ZoLu drabbles
by Wishing-for-a-Zoro-plushie
Summary: This is a collection of one shots that I wrote and couldn't be bothered turning into seperate stories, so I just slammed em all together. Enjoy. I am trying to get to a hundred! Rating has gone up... just in case. lol.
1. Cheaters

Luffy was bored, and when Luffy was bored, he looked for something to do. When the ever joyful captain of the Merry Go looked for something to do, look out.

He went over to Nami, who glared at him. He went to Usopp, who shoved him. He went to Chopper, who wouldn't let him in the lab full stop. And, I mean seriously, who could blame him. Luffy and chemicals, don't mix. So Luffy went to Robin, who slapped him with an extra hand. He went to Sanji, who kicked him out of the kitchen...literally. So that left only one more choice.

Zolo.

His first mate was standing behind the tangerine trees, swinging a large weight around, over and over and over and over and well, you get the idea.

"No Luffy." Zolo said before the rubber man even reached him.

"But you didn't even know what I was going to ask!" Luffy whined.

"You want me to play with you because you're bored." Zolo replied as he swung the weight around again, creating a breeze that made the hair sticking out from under the straw hat's hat, blow around.

"No, I wanted to arm wrestle with you." Luffy pouted.

"Why?"

"Because..."

"Because why?"

"Because I want to see whose stronger."

"Why do you want to see whose stronger?"

"Zolllooooo!"

"Oh alright." Zolo finally conceded. He put the weight down carefully, sat down on the deck and Luffy bounded over. He flopped down onto the deck and held out his hand, elbow bent and resting on the hard wooden surface. Zolo clasped Luffy's hand with his own and Luffy grinned.

"Ready...set...go." Luffy said and they were pushing against each other, trying to force the other down. Luffy gave way a little and then pushed Zolo's hand to the deck.

"No Way!" Zolo cried unbelieving. Luffy grinned.

"I win." he said simply.

"2 out of 3." Zolo said. Luffy shrugged and they went again. Luffy won again! Zolo was seriously shocked.

"Again." Zolo said and so they did. But this time, Zolo had a plan. Zolo noticed that when Luffy arm wrestled, all his attention was focused on their clasped hands. Zolo pushed as hard as he could and then leant forward and kissed the focused captain. Luffy, shocked, let his arm go slack and Zolo pushed it to the deck. The swordsman let Luffy's lips go with a laugh.

"I win." he said softly. Luffy gasped.

"You cheated!" Luffy exclaimed accusingly.

"I'm a pirate. I cheat." Zolo chuckled. Luffy thought a moment and then held his hand out for Zolo to clasp again. Zolo shrugged and did so. Luffy pushed against Zolo's hand, noticing how much effort the swordsman was extruding. Luffy jumped forward and kissed Zolo, and pushed Zolo's hand to the deck. He smiled as he leant back.

"I like cheating." Luffy said and grinned.  
**The end**

**_ok ok i know you are all saying "Luffy would so not beat Zolo..." but, it still made a cute story, right?_**


	2. Just to be near you

Just to be near you

245 words

Swift, harsh, soft and light. This was one of the ways to describe his first mate. Although, the swordsman would disagree with this and then fight him to prove it. Luffy didn't mind. He liked fighting Zolo, it was good training, although he didn't put much stock in training too hard.

It was a hot day on the Merry Go, and they were approaching a summer island. Luffy was sitting on the figure head, but he just couldn't seem to make his eyes focus on the horizon. They kept straying to the sleeping form of his swordsman. He was laying next to the railing, having fallen asleep while Luffy had been talking to him.

Luffy, once again, didn't mind. He found that, just being near his first mate was all that he really needed to quell that anxiety whenever he couldn't see his friend. He slipped down from the figure head, his sandalled feet touching the floor gently and slapping almost silently as he crept to Zolo's lazy form. The swordsman's arm was looped up over the rail and Luffy smiled. Sitting down carefully, he unhooked that arm and laid it across his chest. This felt nice and Luffy's eyes drooped closed.

Zolo awoke a little while later to find his arm draped across Luffy's small form. He sighed, yawned, found he really didn't mind his arm resting there, and went back to sleep.


	3. Matches

Matches

**559 words**

"Luffy?" Zolo asked. The straw hat captain looked up.

"Yeah?" he responded with a grin as the flickering danced across his face and then was snuffed out again.

"Why?" Zolo pointed towards the ground that was littered with small sticks.

"Because it's cool, and they make a funny sound." Luffy replied as he struck another.

"You know Sanji's going to kill you for stealing his matches." Zolo said with a small smile. Luffy stiffened for a moment and then shrugged.

"Meh, he'll get over it." Luffy alleged. Zolo shook his head and silently counted off in his head as he heard the door to the store room open. 3...2...1...

"Luffy!" Sanji's voice filtered into the room. Luffy's face paled and he looked around quickly, looking for a place to hide. His eyes fell on Zolo who was nestled under a blanket. His eyes glittered and Zolo noticed.

"Oh no you don't." Zolo said and pulled the blanket close around him. Luffy pouted.

"You stole my matches!" Sanji yelled as boots thudded down the ladder. Luffy panicked, dropped the little box and put his hand on his hat, pulling it tautly over his head, bouncing from foot to foot. Zolo just watched, waiting for the chef to appear. The soles of Sanji's shoes appeared on the bottom steps and Luffy squeaked.

"Come on, quick." Zolo sighed. Luffy grinned and bounded over and then dived under the blanket. He curled up over Zolo's stomach and Zolo quickly arranged the blanket so it was covering them both comfortably and hid Luffy from view. Sanji appeared and strolled in, unlit cigarette in his mouth. His curly eye browed eye scanned the room and came to rest on the used matches on the floor. He stooped and picked up the box and stood up straight again, lighting a match and holding it to the end of his cigarette.

"Tell Luffy that he isn't getting any food tonight." Sanji said and then walked out. Zolo felt the lump on his stomach shiver and then Luffy's head popped up, straw hat askew.

"No food?" he whimpered.

Luffy waited in the storeroom his stomach growling. This was cruel punishment! There was the thump of the door and Luffy looked up as Zolo walked in, his waist sash bulging. Luffy peered up at him as he sat down. Zolo then pulled out a piece of meat wrapped in paper and some rice balls wrapped in paper as well and then handed them to Luffy.

"Here." he said as he handed them to the captain. Luffy grinned.

"Thanks Zolo. How did you get it away from Sanji?" he asked as he quickly unwrapped the food. Zolo settled himself beside Luffy and sighed.

"Easy. I told him that Nami had a surprise waiting for him and while he was away I stole the food." Zolo responded. Luffy attacked the meat and Zolo winced.

"Wow Zolo, you're the best!" Luffy said after taking a big swallow. He finished the meat and pulled out the rice balls and then glanced at his first mate who gave him an encouraging smile. Luffy smiled back and then held out a rice ball. Zolo chuckled.

"Thanks Luffy." he said and took it. And so the friends ate together in the storeroom, happy just to reside in each other's company and eat.

End


	4. poem

**Perception **

**95 words**

My perception of what your name means.

**L** is for how much love you seem to be able to give.  
**U** is for the undying strength inside you.  
**F** is for the friendliness only you have.  
**F** is for fun and you do love fun.  
**Y** is for you, because that is all I need.

Okay Zolo, now it's my turn!

**Z** is for…I really can't think of a word.  
**O** is for 'Oh, how much I love you'  
**L** is for lazy. **O** is for opening your heart to me.

End


	5. the joys of computers

The joy of computers

427 words

Roronoa Zolo discovered the joys of a computer. He also discovered the internet. Heh, needless to say, he also found He found the One Piece stories about him and the crew. And then…he found the ZoLu stories. Well, didn't Zolo enjoy this. The little stories that were romantic and sweet caught his attention and gave him ideas on how to romance his boyfriend. Speaking of.

"Hey Zo." Luffy said as he walked in, hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Zolo quickly clicked the minimise button and turned to look at his love.

"Hey. What you doin' up buddy?" Zolo replied. Luffy sighed and rubbed his eyes as he sat himself down on Zolo's lap.

"Couldn't sleep." Luffy said and laid his head in the curve of Zolo's neck and shoulder. "What were you looking at?"

"Nothing." Zolo answered. Luffy glanced at him as he readjusted himself to sit more comfortably. "You got a bony butt." Zolo muttered.

"Ha ha." Luffy responded sarcasticallyand then leaping forward he grabbed the mouse and brought the page back up. He read it for a moment and then looked back at Zolo.

"You mean people actually know about us?" he muttered and then went back to it. "Coool."

"You…don't care?" Zolo enquired . Luffy shook his head.

"Why should I?" he asked. Zolo shrugged.

"Don't know. Oh well. Wanna read what these people write?"

"Sure." and together they read through stories filled with cuddling and kissing. Zolo cradled Luffy's head against his shoulder. His boyfriend had fallen asleep ages ago. Zolo reluctantly shut down the computer and lifted his sleeping friend.

"You're so cute when you're asleep." Zolo whispered. A small smile twitched at Luffy's mouth.

"Well, that's one way to get you off that thing." Luffy said and opened an eye. Zolo chuckled.

"You sneaky little captain." he said and then sniffed. "You know, I got this runny nose." he sniffed again and then wiped his nose over Luffy's hair, causing the younger boy to jerk and giggle. (a/n Out of character, but, I like this cos it's what my grandfather used to do when I was a kid.)

"You don't have a runny nose!" Luffy cried. Zolo laughed.

"No… but I was enjoying reading about us." he said. Luffy's arms snaked around his neck.

"Ohh, would you like to go back to that rather than the real thing?" he asked, his voice husky. Zolo paused a moment to lean down and kiss the boy passionately. "Don't change the subject."

"No"

"Good, then lets go." and they headed toward the bedroom, Luffy tracing circles on the back of Zolo's neck. It was a good thing that they were alone on the ship.

The end


	6. The night's secret

A breath. As light as the air in which it floats. As dark as the night in which it sinks. Warm as it brushes against my ear. It makes me shiver knowing who it has come from and what words the breath holds. The quiet of the dormitory only stands to make it more intriguing and forbidden. The rocking of the ship calms my rapidly beating heart as we steal through the corridors and then up onto the deck. His strong arms encircle my waist and lift my face to meet his. The melding of our mouths and the utter happiness makes my skin prickle and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's incredible and it feels like I'm floating. He's mine and I'm his. My swordsman.

---

I breathe against his ear, hoping to make him follow me. We steal through the darkness of the corridors, a forbidden secret is ours and we can't risk anyone finding out until we are ready to tell them. The night is our friend. I tilt his face to meet mine and the earth seems to stop, the waves fade into the background and the moon seems to focus on us. His small body fits so well against mine and his rubber arms easily stretch to reach behind my neck and pull me further into the kiss. It's the most amazing experience in my life. He's mine and I'm his. My captain. 


	7. Tomorrow

**Story is not in One Piece mode. They live in an ordinary town, blah blah. This is a sad, has suicide so, if you don't want to read that, skip past.**

Tomorrow

893 words

Tomorrow…tomorrow is the day. I will tell him how I really feel. I work with him at the supermarket. He is so silly, but so adorable. He has the weirdest name, Monkey D Luffy, but then, my name isn't much better. Roronoa Zolo. He is my best friend and I am positive that he feels the same about me, but, if he doesn't… But, I'll never know unless I say something, so. Yes. Tomorrow I will tell him.

We pack up boxes and work closely, side by side. I laugh as he trips over his own feet. We are having lunch. He grins, unembarrassed and unafraid of what anyone thinks. He wears a silly straw hat but it looks good over his messy black hair. A sleeveless red shirt and rolled up, faded blue jeans. Wooden sandals adorn his feet and the whole outfit makes him stick out like a sore thumb.

He has a brother named Trace, who has a lazy, quiet disposition and he's cool; but Luffy is the only one for me. I didn't tell him what I really feel.  
Tomorrow. Definitely. I will tell him tomorrow.

I can't tell him. I'll never tell him. He's gone. Dead. While he was walking home from work, he was hit by a car. Trace is devastated and when he rang to tell me, he sounded so…weak. How could someone that I love so much just…die? I keep expecting him to walk in, as he always used to, holding his hat and a bottle of rum for me.

Stupid car. Stupid driver!

The funeral was a disaster. For me anyway. Luffy looked so peaceful in his casket. Trace asks me to get up and say something meaningful, and I do. But, it doesn't sound right. Doesn't compare to what you were really like.

Tears run freely down my cheeks as I speak.

After the burial, Trace announces that he is going away. He asks me to clean out Luffy's apartment because it is to painful for him. I agree. He also says that if I want it, I could have it to sell, to keep, whatever I choose.

I don't see or hear from Trace ever again and I really don't expect him to come back. I know he never will.

When I cleaned out Luffy's apartment, my heart nearly broke when I found his diary. It had a picture of him and I on the front. I flipped the book open and it landed on the entrythe day before Luffy had died.

_Dear Diary, I realised something yesterday. A feeling I have been having for ages now. Weird though it may seem, I think I've fallen in love. Working beside him let's me be myself and whenever I am around him, I never feel embarrassed. I bet you can't guess who I'm talking about Diary! Roronoa Zolo._

At this, I felt my knees buckle and I had to sink into a chair to stop from fainting. I kept reading, my eyes stinging and wide, but I don't dare blink for fear of missing an important word.

_I love him and I don't know how to let him know. He's my best friend. If he rejects him, then, our friendship would never be the same. No. Zolo is my bestest best friend and he would accept me no matter what and we'd figure out a way around it. So, I have decided to tell him Diary. I have decided that I can't keep this hidden for long. I will tell him. Tomorrow…at work._

And the entry ended. Then another started, and it was obvious Luffy had been writing it on his way home from work as the writing was a little messy.

_Dear Diary I didn't tell him. I mean, I should have I know, but, my nerve failed me. Every time I try to tell him, I tripped over my own feet, stumbled over my words or just straight out made an idiot of myself! He laughed and my confidence went…bye bye! I can't help but love him, he is so adorable. Once more Diary, I love Roronoa Zolo._

Tears fall from my eyes as they settled on the long pen streak that ran down the page. I think it's incredible that there is no blood on the book and Trace must have recovered it from the police when they had finished their investigation. Why he didn't keep it for himself, I don't know. My mind is made up. I know what I have to do.

Wrapping my arm around the diary, I hold it close as I walk out to the cupboard and open it. There. The little white bottle which holds the easiest way to make the pain go away. The small, round objects, as white as the bottle from whence they came, drop into my hand. Two, then four, then six, then ten, and still twenty don't seem enough.

Thirty should do it. They don't go down easy, and I have to swallow at least two cups of water, but I do it. They are all gone and my vision sways. I fall to the floor, arm still wrapped tight around the diary, as my vision blurs and the thick curtains of death lift to reveal my love waiting. We are together again.  
Forever.  
The end


	8. Dreams shattered

Dreams shattered 

Monkey D Luffy had a dream. A big dream. He wanted to become the king of the pirates. But, what if something happened that rendered him incapable of doing so? Love'll do that to you.

The Merry Go was docked at a small island, getting supplies and recovering from spending at least a month just sailing on the sea. Zolo had gone into the town and the others had stayed on the ship. Nami looked up and gasped.

"Major wind, storm guys." she called. Luffy looked around and noticed Zolo still wasn't back.

"But, Zolo!" he cried.

"No time!" Sanji cried over the wind that had suddenly whipped up. The crew ran around the deck and secured everything and Nami screamed as a tornado came toward them.

"We have to cast off!" Sanji yelled running back to the anchor to pull it up. Luffy grabbed his arm.

"We can't leave without ZOLO!" Luffy screamed. Sanji shoved Luffy back and began to pull up the anchor.

"We'll find moss head! But if we don't cast off we're all GOING TO DIE!" Sanji yelled his voice rising as he tried to be heard over the demon roaring of the tornado. Luffy watched the shore desperately as the wind's tugged at the ship and began to pull it out to sea.

Tears streamed down his face and he pulled his hat down as he held onto the rail.

"I'll find you again." Luffy whispered. The Merry Go sailed out to sea leaving the first mate behind.

Nami gazed at Luffy's slumped form. They had been sailing for barely a week and already the captain was losing what little sanity he had. Without Zolo, Luffy didn't get the attention that he needed and he didn't have a friend to protect and care for him. Nami sighed and turned to Sanji.

"We have to go back and find him. If we don't, then Luffy…" she trailed off. Sanji frowned.

"It's moss head's fault." he said. Nami glared.

"Stop being mean, and you don't mean that anyway." she berated him. Sanji glanced at her and then sighed.

"Yeah…" and then he looked up as Luffy walked toward them, head bowed.

"Hey Luffy. Lunch is on the table for you." Sanji said as the boy walked past.

"Mm not hungry." Luffy mumbled and continued back down to the boy's cabin.

"Luffy!" Nami demanded. The straw hatted boy turned back to look at her. He looked terrible. He hadn't eaten since they had left the island and he barely slept either.

"Luffy. It's not like Zolo died or anything." Sanji said smoking his cigarette as per normal. Nami elbowed him in the arm as Luffy blanched and his eyes shook.

"Look, you can still continue your dream. You can still become King of the Pirates." Nami said and smiled. Luffy shivered and looked up at her, his eyes narrowed much like how they were when he was in a fight.

"No I can't." he said. "I won't continue until I know that Zolo will be able to make his dream come true. I'm not going to follow my own dream until I make his come true." Luffy continued angrily. Nami and Sanji sighed. Luffy glared at them once more and then walked away. Now Usopp wasn't one for usually telling someone else off, but, now was the time.

"Well done." he said accusingly to Nami and Sanji as he walked up to them. Nami turned and glared at him and Usopp quailed a moment before he stood up tall again. "You knew he wouldn't continue until Zolo was back, so why did you try and tell him he could?"

"Because he can." Sanji said instantly bristling at the accusing tone that was directed towards his beloved Nami. Usopp growled and scratched the end of his long nose.

"No. He. Can't. Do you understand?" Usopp responded and then walked away shaking his head, making his curls swing. Chopper glanced over at the annoyed marksman and then hurried after him.

"What was that about?" Sanji asked. Nami shook her head.

"You know Zolo and Luffy have been together the longest out of all of us, right?" Nami asked and Sanji nodded, "Well, they're tighter friends than the rest of us." Nami said and looked at Sanji who just shrugged and nodded.

"Oh Sanji. Stop acting dumb. You've seen it surely. Luffy loves Zolo. And Zolo loves Luffy and just because they haven't announced it to the world doesn't mean it isn't there." Nami growled angrily. She wasn't exactly angry at Sanji but more angry with herself for ignoring that fact.

Luffy lay on Zolo's bed and sighed. He had lay on this bed so many times since they had left Zolo behind, but, it was comforting. It still held the swordsman's scent and Luffy felt like the swordsman was almost there. He quietly let his eyes close and slipped into a dreamscape.

_Luffy slowly opened his eyes. He was still lying on Zolo's bed and he was about to get up with a sigh when a hand twitched on his head. He reached up and pulled it off to find it was Zolo's who had just materialised beside him on the bed. The older man smiled down at him and then gripped his hair. Luffy winced in pain._

_"Zolo?" he asked. The swordsman didn't seem to notice his whimper and continued pulling until Luffy's face was eye level with the green haired man's. Zolo sneered in Luffy's face and then threw him across the room. Luffy hit the wall and then slid to the floor. He sat up and stared at Zolo who got up off the bed and unsheathed his swords. Luffy got up as Zolo walked slowly towards him._

_"You left me behind. I don't like being left behind. For that, you deserve to die." Zolo said as he raised Wadau and placed it in his mouth. Luffy whimpered._

_"I didn't mean to. There was a storm and -" Luffy was cut off as Zolo yelled,_

_"Liar!" and continued to advance. Luffy pushed himself against the wall and watched with horrified eyes and Zolo swung his two swords up in an arc and brought them slicing down towards him._

Luffy jumped and fell off the bed with a thump. He sat up and looked around with wide eyes. That…had been a freaky nightmare. He sighed and got up. He knew he couldn't remain much longer on this ship without his friend. That does it. He would have to do something.

Anything. He walked out of the cabin and went up on deck where Nami was sitting in her favourite chair and Usopp was in the crow's nest. Chopper must have been down in his lab, because he was nowhere to be seen and Sanji was obviously in the kitchen. Luffy sighed and went to Nami. He had to be smart about how he asked this.

"Where's the spare life boat raft thing." Luffy asked her. Oh yeah, real smooth. Nami glanced up at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Why?" she asked. Luffy sighed again miserably.

"Because I am the Captain and I am ordering you to tell me where it is." Luffy said dully. Nami tilted her head to the side and frowned.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Luffy's eyes narrowed and then tilted his head downward so his hat covered his eyes.

"I'm fine. Now where is it?"

"Don't use that tone with me or-"

"Tell. Me!" Luffy demanded. Nami jumped out of her chair. Sanji burst out of the kitchen, looking around for the source of the yelling and then he frowned when he saw Luffy.

"Luffy. What are you doing abusing Nami? I'm going to kick your head in you little runt." Sanji swaggered over but Luffy didn't even blink as Sanji swung a leg toward him. Luffy simply put out a hand and grabbed his foot and then swung him back into the wall. Sanji slid to the deck stunned. Luffy growled and then stormed off.

"I'll find it my friggin' self." he muttered as he walked away, leaving Nami and Sanji gaping at him. He finally found what he was looking for in the storage room.

It was surprising that he didn't even really notice it before but then, so manu cargo boxes had been built up in front of it. Luffy dragged it up the stairs only to find Sanji blocking his path out of the door. Luffy frowned.

"What makes you think you can just walk outta here?" he asked. Luffy sighed and placed a hand over his face, lack of sleep and food making him a very irritable person.

"Sanji…move. I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to." Luffy said. Sanji tilted his head.

"You think we don't miss him? You think we don't want to go back. Guess what Luffy, use that cob web filled brain of yours and think. We didn't want to leave without him but we had to. I've told you this before but you don't seem to be able to get it through that thick skull of yours." Sanji raged. Luffy watched him with indifferent eyes. "You're not listening to a word I'm saying are you?" a shadow of a smile flickered across Luffy's face.

"Nope." and with that he pushed past Sanji and went out onto the deck.

"Luffy don't go. We're only a day away from the island where Zolo is. Please just wait." Nami pleaded as Luffy dragged the little boat built for one across the deck. He stopped and turned to her.

"I can't stay on this ship Nami. Not without him." Luffy whispered and then he reeled, the lack of food and sleep beginning to take a toll on the young captain. Sanji leapt forward and caught him before he hit the deck.

"Come on, you need to eat something." Sanji said, concern seeping into his voice although he'd deny it under oath that he had ever felt any such emotion for the captain. He helped Luffy into the kitchen and sat him down where Luffy looked about ready to just drop his head and fall asleep.

Sanji whipped out his cooking utensils and soon the smell of food wafted into the air. Chopper and Usopp hurried in after smelling it and Nami came in as well. Sanji laid the plate down in front of Luffy but Luffy just stared at it, not even motioning to open his mouth and eat. Usopp and Chopper sat down quietly and then ate in silence as Sanji laid plates in front of them as well.

Nami got hers, Sanji garnished it before handing it to her, and she watched Luffy who had managed to pick up a fork and was playing with his food. Sanji watched him, a bit put out that Luffy wasn't devouring the food like he usually was.

There was a crash outside and everyone bar Luffy looked up. There was another thud and then silence. Eerie silence. Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Sanji rushed out of the room. Luffy stayed at the table. There was laughter and Luffy barely registered it, he was so miserable. Nami burst into the room just as Luffy got up to go back to the boat.

"Luffy, guess what!" she cried.

"Don't care." Luffy mumbled.

"But-"

"Nami, I honestly don't care. Leave me alone, I'm going." Luffy said and then brushed past her. He opened the door and walked out. His hat was low, his heart even lower and then his nose hit something solid. He didn't even look up as he said,

"Get out of my way Sanji."

"I beg your pardon?" a gruff voice asked. Luffy shivered and shook his head.

"Great, now I'm hallucinating." he muttered as he stepped back.

"Is this a hallucination?" the voice spoke again and then strong arms circled him and embraced him in a tight hug. Luffy was stunned and then looked up to see a grinning Zolo looking down at him.

"Trying to get rid of me eh Captain? Not that easy." Zolo said and then he laughed. A slow smile spread across Luffy's face and then he hugged his first mate back.

"ZOLO!" he cried and then Zolo suddenly felt something warm and wet on his shirt. Luffy's shoulders were shaking and he sobbed.

"Luffy?" Zolo asked. Everyone was staring at them. "Come on Luffy, I think we need to talk." he said. Luffy nodded and then stumbled weakly as he tried to move.

"DID YOU EVEN EAT THE FOOD I GAVE YOU?" Sanji yelled annoyed. Zolo looked up sharply.

"He won't eat?" the green haired swordsman asked.

"Nope." Nami replied. "But, what about you? Have you eaten? How the hell did you get back here anyway?"

"Let's discuss this later, Luffy doesn't look too good. Where's the food? I'll see if I can get him to eat." Zolo said. Luffy was spacing out, not really paying attention to what the others were saying, but thinking about how happy he was that his first mate was back.

"It's in the kitchen." Sanji replied. Zolo nodded and easily picked Luffy up. Luffy leaned against the swordsman's chest and smiling.

"Zolo…" Luffy muttered. At last he could let himself sleep. He was vaguely aware of Zolo shaking him and telling him he couldn't go to sleep yet.

He had to eat something before he went to sleep otherwise he might not wake up again. Luffy grudgingly opened his eyes and gazed up at the blurry face above him. It swam in front of him and he realised he wasn't against Zolo anymore and it distressed him.

"Zolo…" he muttered and tried to clear his eyes.

"I'm here buddy." Zolo said above him. Then a fuzzy pink blur came in over him and he felt something like a bee sting in his arm but was too weak to jerk away.

"That should help." a squeaky little voice said. Luffy suddenly felt a warm hand against his back, pushing him up into a sitting position. His eyes began to clear and he turned his head to see Zolo's face only inches from his.

Luffy smiled and pressed his lips to Zolo's. There was a collective gasp from what must have been the others behind them but Luffy nor Zolo cared. Zolo paused a moment, before returning the kiss briefly and then pulling away.

"C'mon buddy, you have to eat." Zolo said and Luffy groaned. He could smell food, and it smelt really yummy. Heh, food hadn't smelt good in a week, but then, his swordsman's scent hadn't been there for a week and Luffy found food just didn't taste the same without his green haired friend.

"Open your mouth Luffy." Zolo asked. Luffy let his jaw drop open obediently and then warm, miso soup touched his tongue. He swallowed and coughed. He wasn't used to swallowing.

"Easy… again." Luffy opened his mouth again, feeling better with each spoonful until his eyes were clear and he was sitting up without Zolo's hand holding him. Luffy looked up at the rest of the crew.

"I need to talk to Zolo alone, can you guys go away?" Luffy asked. Nami and Sanji exchanged wry glances before they left but Usopp and Chopper hurried out almost instantly. Zolo placed the spoon back in the empty bowl and looked to Luffy.

"Zolo…while you were away. I really got to notice how much…I rely on you. Nothing seems the same with you gone. Everything seems…empty. Food doesn't smell the same, I couldn't sleep without that weird humming snoring noise you make."

"I do not snore."

"Do so. But It's…it's a cute snore." Luffy muttered and then blushed. Zolo sighed.

"I did too Luffy. I kinda missed you waking me up to play hide and seek or tag. Luffy, I…almost cried when I saw the ship was leaving. The tornado barely missed you and it frightened me half to death before I realised that, I would never see the crew again…I'd never see you. I grabbed the nearest little boat and sailed out, using what was left of that weird storm to try and catch up. I could see the ship like a spec on the horizon when I fell asleep and then it would be just a little closer when I awoke. Kinda like when we first started out." Zolo said and then chuckled. Luffy smiled.

"Hey Zolo wanna be my first mate?" Luffy squeaked.

"Go away." Zolo replied and then they laughed. "I don't need your help."

"You were a hard one to get to join, but, I knew from the moment I saw you that you would be the best friend I'd ever had." Luffy said and then gazed at Zolo with wide eyes. Zolo chuckled.

"I didn't really have a choice, you wouldn't leave me alone until I did join. But…yeah, I realised that about you too." Zolo admitted and then leaned in close to Luffy. "I thought you were cute from the moment I saw you." he whispered and then kissed Luffy gently.

He ran his hands through Luffy's silky black hair and his skin tingled when Luffy wrapped his hands around the back of Zolo's neck. Zolo would pull back a little and Luffy would push forward, seeking to keep their connection for as long as possible. Zolo touched his tongue to Luffy's lips and Luffy opened his mouth to accept him. Luffy's mouth still tasted like the miso soup but it was a rather nice taste. Breaking apart to breathe, Zolo noticed Luffy's eyes droop slightly and he pushed the captain down.

"Go to sleep Luffy." Zolo said. Luffy smiled. "You're alright now."

"…kay." Luffy mumbled. Zolo was about to get up and leave when a hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Stay?" Luffy asked. Zolo smiled and shook his head.

"Sure Luffy. But, shove over, I'm tired too." Zolo said. Luffy scooted over and Zolo lay down beside him.

"Love you Zolo." Luffy whispered, already drifting off and his soft breath playing across Zolo's ear.

"Love you too Luffy." Zolo responded and then drifted off to sleep.

The end


	9. oh brother

Oh Brother 

"GIVE ME SOME FOOD!" The echo was heard through most of the town. It was also heard by a certain someone who knew that cry very very well. Portgas D Trace was sitting at a table in a restaurant and his head shot up when he heard it. He looked around and knew that it was close enough that Luffy would probably be coming in here anyway.

"LUFFY! DON'T EAT THE TREE!" Zolo's voice rang out. Trace shook his head and smiled. Same old Luffy.

"Sorry Zolo." his brother apologised as the two got closer. Trace's eyebrows furrowed. That wasn't. Luffy didn't apologise, at least, not without a threat to coaxe it from him. Trace turned and saw Luffy and Zolo walking together and Luffy apparently had forgotten about eating. He was staring up at Zolo with a wide grin. Then he tilted his head like a confused puppy and looked around.

He looked thoughtful, almost like he was trying to see something but couldn't find it. Trace decided if his little brother wasn't going to come to him, then he may as well go out to him, but he needn't have gotten up because at that moment, Luffy seemed to remember why he was laughing with Zolo and barrelled into the restaurant.

He ran straight up to the bar and jumped into a seat, wrapping his legs around the bottom of the stool. He jumped up and down in his seat and ordered a plate of everything. Roronoa Zolo followed the kid in, and went up and sat in the stool beside him. Luffy tapped his friend on the shoulder and Zolo sighed.

"Not here Luffy." he said seeming to blush slightly. Luffy pouted and then turned back as the food was set down.

Not here? Not here what? Trace thought. He finished off his food and then got up. Oh no. he thought and then collapsed as his narcoleptic problem made him fall asleep where he was.

Luffy gobbled down his food, not even noticing that someone was behind him and watching him.  
Someone very close to him. He sighed and patted his stomach when he had finished.

"That was good food." he said and grinned at his boyfriend.

"You think any food is good food." Zolo replied as he drank down the last of his rum.

"Not always." Luffy replied pouting.

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do I have to start tickling you?"

"Zolo!" Luffy exclaimed and then the two laughed.

"Wanna go and look around the rest of the town now you've eaten?" Zolo asked. Luffy grinned and nodded and turned to walk out. He waited a moment as Zolo paid for them and then they walked out.

Trace woke up just as Luffy and Zolo walked out. He jumped up, straightened his hat, wiped his mouth and then ran out.

"Hey!" he cried but the two were lost in the crowd. He also noticed something else a little strange. Luffy and Zolo were holding hands. Trace scratched his head and decided it was time to use extreme measures. He would have to hope that Luffy was still a little hungry. He took a deep breath, cupped his mouth with his hands and then bellowed,

"FREE FOOD!" Luffy came running, Zolo dragging behind him. He stopped in front of Trace, jumping from foot to foot.

"Where? Where?" he asked and then realised who he was standing in front of. "TRACE!" he yelled and grabbed his brother in a bear hug.

"Hey little bro'." He said as he hugged his brother back. Zolo pushed his hands into his pockets and smiled.

"Hey Trace." he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Catching up with the future king of the pirates of course." Trace replied as Luffy finally let him go. "I'm gonna kidnap him and take him home." Trace teased as he grabbed Luffy and put him over his shoulder. Luffy laughed and his legs kicked wildly.

"Lemme go!" Luffy cried laughing. Zolo stepped forward, grabbed the back of the waistband of Luffy's jeans and pulled him onto his own shoulder.

"He's my captain." Zolo said with a grin as Luffy groaned at being put on someone else's shoulder. Zolo let him down and the three laughed. But Trace noticed that there was something different between the two pirates. Zolo and Luffy seemed closer than they had when he had last seen them.

"So, where's the rest of the crew?" Trace asked. Luffy shrugged.

"Sanji is still on the ship, Robin is my newest member and she went off with Nami and Usopp and Chopper went off somewhere to go play a game of some sort." Luffy said and then became suddenly interested in a large yellow banner that was flying over the crowd. It had a weird symbol on it and Luffy became entranced by it.

"Whaddya lookin' at Luffy?" Zolo asked and looked at the banner. There was something weird about the symbol but nothing to stare at.

"Trace? What's with the banner?" He asked, and when the older man didn't reply, he turned to look and noticed Trace was staring at the banner as well. Zolo waved a hand in front of his captain's face. Luffy didn't even flinch and then the banner disappeared and the two men came out of their weird trance. Luffy looked at Zolo, a little confused and then he grinned.

"What was that about?" Zolo asked. Luffy shrugged.

"Nothing, just looked like something me and Luffy saw once before. Symbol from home." Trace said from behind them. Luffy nodded in agreement.

"Well, we're going to explore the rest of the town, you coming?" Zolo asked Trace as he grabbed Luffy's hand and they continued down the street.

Trace was stunned a moment at Zolo grabbing Luffy's hand like that, but then shook his head and followed. Probably just doing that so Luffy couldn't run off. After all he had done it when they had been little. Sure enough, Luffy tried many times to run off and look at something or rather. Zolo looked up at the sky and sighed.

"Midday. We had better get back. It's our turn to watch over the ship." he said. Luffy groaned but followed Zolo nonetheless. Trace was momentarily forgotten and then Luffy turned and grinned.

"Are you coming back to the ship?" he asked. Trace smiled and nodded and followed. The ship came into view and Luffy ran ahead, Zolo finally letting the boy's hand go.

"Geeze Luffy!" Sanji called from the deck of the ship. Luffy grinned. "Did you two have fun?"

"Yup!" Luffy replied and then stretched his arms up to grab onto the side of the ship and hurl himself onto it. Zolo opted to climb the ladder and narrowly avoided a kick from the annoyed chef.

"What the hell was that for?" Zolo yelled, one hand resting on Wadau's hilt.

"Because you were late." Sanji responded and then jumped over board and walked away.

Trace climbed up and saw Luffy winding himself around the mast. He raised an eyebrow and then noticed Zolo was laughing, but he couldn't see where the swordsman was. He walked up and saw that Luffy had wound himself around Zolo and was making sure the swordsman stayed there.

"Why are you doing that?" Trace asked.

"Because Zolo keeps trying to tickle me." Luffy replied as he wound himself around the mast again. Zolo laughed and then stretched Luffy out and ducked out from under the captain's winding body. Luffy gasped and gave Zolo a horrified look.

"You cheated." he cried. Trace laughed.

"I have not! Yet." Zolo said and then reaching forward, he began to tickle the effectively held captain. Luffy began giggling and his body suddenly spun from around the mast and then flung into the air. Zolo sighed.

"I thought that would happen." he muttered and watched Luffy who flew up high into the air.

"Hey! I can see the restaurant from here!" he cried and then began to fall. He noticed he was falling towards the water. "Ah! Zolo! Water!" he squealed and Zolo hurried forward and leaped up onto the side of the ship. Luffy gasped as Zolo caught him easily and then smiled.

"My hero." he said. Zolo grinned and placed Luffy back on his feet. Zolo kept his hand around Luffy's waist as they walked back over to the mast.

"Ok." Trace said making the two look up. "What is going on with you two?" he asked. Luffy grinned and Zolo suddenly blushed.

"Oh Zolo." Luffy said a little sarcastically. "We talked about this, there is nothing wrong with us."

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't know your brother would find out so soon." Zolo replied.

"Find out what?" Trace asked. Luffy grinned and wrapped his arms around Zolo.

"Zolo's my boyfriend!" he cried happily. Trace was momentarily stunned and then smiled.

"Cool Luffy." he said.

"You don't mind?" Zolo asked a little uneasily. Trace shook his head, sly smile in place.

"No. Why would I? I always knew you and Luffy were close. I just didn't realise you would get this close." he replied. Zolo relaxed and Luffy hugged his swordsman and then let go. A bright smile lit his face.

"Hey Trace, I made you something." he said and then raced towards the door that led into the sleeping quarters. Trace looked at Zolo who smiled.

"He's been working on it for ages. I think you'll like it. He did it all by himself, and I was a little surprised when he showed me the finished product." Zolo said. They stood in silence for a bit and then Luffy hurried back out, a large piece of paper in his hands. He handed it to Trace and grinned.

Trace looked down and saw a bracelet. It was fire and it was in the shape of his name. Trace smiled. It was actually really really cool. He slipped it on and noticed how cool it looked against his tanned skin. Luffy looked a little uneasy.

"It's awesome." he said. Luffy grinned. Then Trace noticed that the paper showed something as well. He looked at it and saw that it was a drawing of himself in one of his flame poses. Luffy was beside him, his arm stretched back. And they seemed to be fighting what looked like Chaser. Trace laughed.

"That's cool." he said and carefully folded it and slipped it into his backpack. Zolo had laid himself by the mast and Luffy bounded over and lay down beside the older man. He rested his head against Zolo's chest and Zolo's arm came over to rest against Luffy's chest. Trace smiled and walked over.

"Hey, I have to be off. Whitebeard expects me back soon and I don't want to disappoint." Trace said. Luffy grinned and waved.

"See you later Trace. Be careful." he said.

"Take it easy man." Zolo said barely cracking an eye open.

"I will. Take care of my little bro'." Trace said.

"Always." Zolo replied.

"See you in the grand line." and with that, he jumped off the side of the ship. Luffy grinned, he loved his brother so much. He was glad he had accepted Zolo and his relationship and with some final thoughts of when he would see his brother again, he fell asleep.

Trace walked away from the silent ship. He smiled. He was happy that Luffy had found someone like Zolo to look after and love him. Luffy needed a lot of attention and if he didn't get it, he often was hurt and became stressed to the point of insanity. Trace knew that Luffy and Zolo had been close but this was a little shocking, but, oh well. Luffy was happy and Trace didn't care who Luffy chose as long as his little brother was exactly that... happy.

The end

**Tee hee**


	10. Rejected

**If you are a Sanji/Luffy fan, don't read this because you will try and kill me and if you are an SL fan, what the _hell_ are you doing in a ZoLu drabble area anyway? Oh well, Luffy probably wouldn't do this but, hey, ya never know what goes on inside that rubber noggin of his.**

Rejected

Roronoa Zolo watched him carefully. He was so vibrant, so full of life and so unafraid of what anyone thought of him, even when he did the most embarrassing things, eg, tripping over his own feet and falling down the stairs of the Merry Go to land in a tumbled heap at the bottom.

But, the thing was, Zolo noticed he wasn't the only one watching his captain. It seemed as if Sanji had taken an interest as well. This annoyed Zolo to no end and Sanji seemed to notice this as well.

The two men then made it a point to go out their way to piss the other off. They often got into fights over frivolous things and then proceeded to tease the other, when they were alone, about their attraction to the captain. It was a bright, warm day when Zolo won.

Luffy was sitting upon the figure head, as usual, and Zolo was asleep next to the mast, as usual.

Sanji snuck out of the kitchen, plan in mind. He paused at the asleep swordsman, resisting the urge to kick the bastard up the arse there and then. He shook his head and continued towards Luffy.

"Hey Luffy." he said. Luffy turned to him with a smile.

"Is dinner ready Sanji?" he asked. Sanji frowned, is that all this kid thinks about? He thought.

"No Luffy, I want to tell you something else." the blonde haired man said. Luffy waited, a bright smile on his face. Sanji paused a moment, working up the courage to tell Luffy how he felt.

"I, well, you know when someone likes someone else they call it love, right?" Sanji asked trying to be subtle. Luffy probably wouldn't get it, but, heck, it wouldn't hurt to try. Luffy thought a minute.

"Yeah, what about it?' Luffy replied. Sanji sighed.

"Well, I…love you." he said. There was a silence so deep that Sanji thought he might drown in it if Luffy didn't reply soon. Luffy's smile faded a little.

"Love me?…Sanji, you're my friend but…I don't love you that way…" Luffy said quietly, his serious side showing through.

Sanji stayed still, afraid that a single movement would send him falling to the deck in tears. But, he composed himself, turned away and stuffed his hands deep into his pockets. "Sanji, I'm sorry." Luffy's voice said behind him. Sanji paused a moment and then shook his head, taking long strides back to the kitchen and locking the door behind him.

Zolo opened an eye and saw Sanji walking back to the kitchen, his footsteps heavier than usual and the distance between each step was a little erratic. Zolo looked up to see Luffy with his head bowed. Oh, so that's what had happened. It seemed Sanji had told Luffy how he felt and the captain had rejected him. Ouch. But, Zolo knew he had gotten in early. He smiled at the memory.

"Luffy." Zolo said as he jumped into the crow's nest. The rubber man who had been sitting on the edge of the pit, his legs dangling over the side, looked around.

"Yeah?" he replied, his eyes glittering in the moonlight. It must have been around midnight and the moon was casting light exactly onto the two men. Zolo sighed and walked over to him.

"It's time for my watch." Luffy yawned, his arms stretching, literally, above him to twist together and then snapped back down to their owner. Zolo chuckled.

"Does that make the stretching better?" he asked. Luffy nodded, a smile on his face. Zolo chuckled again. Luffy hopped back into the crow's nest and was about to jump onto the ladder when Zolo grabbed his arm. Luffy paused and turned back, a confused expression on his face.

"Luffy, I want to tell you something." Zolo said. Luffy tilted his head and then smiled.

"Well?"

"Can I show you?" he asked carefully. Luffy shrugged.

"Sure." Zolo didn't think Luffy realised what he had just agreed to, but, he was sure he could show him.

He used Luffy's own arm as a lasso and pulled the younger man to him. As soon as Luffy had reached him, he pressed his free arm to Luffy's back and held him tight. Leaning down, he pressed his forehead to Luffy's and pushed the smaller boy's head back a little, so his lips could touch his captain's. Luffy didn't pull back, but it seemed like the younger man was surprised. So Zolo continued to kiss him, there under the moonlight, Luffy even pressing a little back. They broke apart and Luffy rested his head on Zolo's shoulder.

"Zolo, I don't know if this is gonna work." Luffy said after a little while. Zolo paused.

"Why? Anyone who doubts us, I'll just grind em' into the ground." the swordsman threatened, drawing a light chuckle from Luffy.

"No you won't, not without my permission. No, I mean I think Sanji likes me as well. I don't want to have to reject someone." Luffy explained. Zolo frowned.

"But, do you love Sanji back?" he asked. Luffy shook his head.

"He's a fantastic cook and an awesome fighter and friend but, I don't love him."

"Then, you have to tell the truth. If you don't love someone, then you can't lie to them and tell them that you do like them." Zolo said still holding Luffy against him firmly. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Zolo sighed. He silently promised that he wouldn't tease the chef…much. He chuckled a little before letting himself slip off to sleep. But, before he did so he couldn't help but think, 'Rejected.' towards Sanji.

The end

**Hmm, a bit rushed and a bit stupid but, anyway**


	11. Ghost

Ghost Monkey D Luffy walked down the road through the middle of the busy town. Looking from side to side as he walked, he almost felt a little…scared. This was a rare occurrence for someone such as Luffy, but, in the recent tragedy, who could blame him? 

"I'm LEAVING!" a voice yelled, distinctly heard by the aghast captain. Sanji frowned.

"Fine! It's not my fault though!" the chef replied. Nami, Robin, Chopper, Usopp and Luffy were gathered around the fighting men on the deck. During a recent battle with the Marines, Sanji had kicked a Marine straight into Zolo, causing the swordsman to fall overboard. It would have been quite comical if Zolo and Sanji's nerves hadn't been stretched to the breaking point by Luffy being in the clutches of Chaser.

That's right, Chaser had managed to get a hold of the wayward captain and had literally yoinked him off of the ship. But, the two should have known better for as soon as Chaser's back was turned, Luffy rocketed himself back to the ship, where he had found Sanji and Zolo already in major 'asshole, it's your fault!' sparring mode.

"You were the one who knocked that Marine into me!" Zolo responded, one foot resting on the side of the ship, the green haired man poised to leap over the side onto the earth below.

"By accident! But, if you're going to leave, go ahead Don't just stand there talking about it!" Sanji growled before storming back into the kitchen. Well, this shocked everyone into a stunned silence. Zolo's eyes shifted to Luffy, who looked at him with big, sad eyes.

"Bye Luffy." he said gruffly and disappeared over the side of the ship. Luffy ran to the rail and his hands clenched on the wood.

"Zolo!" he called but the swordsman just kept walking. "ZOLO!" Luffy tried again but still the swordsman ignored him and disappeared over the horizon.

Tears began streaming from Luffy's eyes as he thought about that day. He knew he should just forget all this, and he knew he should stop looking but something inside him compelled him to do so. A month ago it had happened, a month since he hadn't been saved, a month since it had happened…

Zolo stopped. The Merry Go was in front of him. He had only been gone from it a week but already he was missing it. Almost joyfully, he ran towards it, hoping Luffy would let him back aboard. He climbed up the ladder and jumped onto the deck, his boots hitting the wood with a thud.

_Swordsman, my swordsman…why did you leave?_

Zolo looked around and the ship was silent. He walked forward slowly, noticing something was different…and wrong. Severely wrong. There was no noise, there was no movement. He opened the galley door and looked in, amazed to see the rest of the crew there. They all looked ashen, like they had been crying. He tilted his head and slowly entered causing the crew to look up from their places around the table.

_Swordsman, my swordsman…how could you do this?_

The crew stared back at him blankly. He noticed the absence of the person who made the ship a colourful place.

"Where's Luffy?" Zolo asked slowly. The crew stared blankly at him until Nami gave a strangled sob and got up from the table. She stared at Zolo, deep brown eyes swimming with tears.

"He's dead." she said.

_Swordsman, my swordsman…I've lost you forever._

"What? How?" Zolo asked quickly, his heart about to burst. Sanji looked up at him, his usually delicately curled eyebrow almost straight.

"He drowned. The day after you left." the chef said quietly.

Water, rushing in his ears, making it seem like everyone was talking to him at once before silence, so harsh it felt like he was going deaf. He knew nothing would save him from that bottomless ocean and no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to save himself either.

_Swordsman, my swordsman…why didn't you save me? Now I'm a ghost, and I'm all alone._

_**end**_

**Yeah, yeah shoot me. I just love writing the emotions of the people after someone dies. Anyway, I have a present for all you reviewers. Another ZoLu, it's AU and I think you'll love it. He he. I'm such a tease.**


	12. stolen

Stolen 

Smile as wide as the sea itself. White as the stars that shine above. How could I have missed it? How could I have ignored the obvious signs that love has become a part of our relationship? It just doesn't seem possible!

Gazing at my swords and glaring at the half reflection it gives me.

I'm not good enough for him. I can't possibly be good enough for him. He, who is so happy and carefree and pure. But I cannot deny, that like looking at him is like looking at a god.

If he keeps going, he will be.

Sometimes, his strength worries me. He's so intense and I think, what would happen if that intensity died? Who would be there to pick him up again and keep him alive? My resolve hardens at those times and I watch him more carefully than ever.

He is so happy, but, even though he tries to deny it, I hear him. Crying out in the night. Yelling out to some unseen foe to leave his crew alone. Not him.

His crew.

But the time that really made me scared, was when he had the night mare…about me.

He was crying out, but this time it was feverish, scared and small. I rolled over, trying to block it out as usual. His nightmares didn't last long. I was falling back to sleep when he called out my name. Twice he called out and twice he asked me not to leave.

Not to die.

I turned back over to see him twist in his hammock and then fall out, only to hit the ground with a thump. I quickly close my eyes as he sits up, rubbing his nose. Hnh, something actually hurt.

I see him from the small slit that I allow myself and he throws a furtive glance in my direction, before he softly pads over. He comes so close that my breathing quickens. I hope he doesn't notice. I feel my face warm. I really hope he doesn't notice. He sighs, brushes a hand across my hair and leaves.

Luffy, if only that hand could have remained. I hear the soft whisper of fabric and know that my captain is back in bed. I let out a sigh, and roll over to go back to sleep.

Happiness is me, for I know Luffy loves me. He told me so. It happened this morning.

I was lying against the mast, recovering lost sleep when a skinny shadow fell across me and I looked up to see a pair of gorgeous black eyes and a small inquisitive face. He smiles and it seems brighter than the sun. He sits beside me and leans on my shoulder.

"Zolo, I think someone has stolen my heart." he whispers. My world seems to stop. Who could've done that? He peers at me innocently.

"Why did you do it?" I let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding.

"I never meant to." I reply and Luffy chuckles.

"But you did, and now I need the opportunity to steal yours."

"Too late." I reply and Luffy grins. A dream, this has to be a dream as he leans in close.

Heaven, this must be what heaven is like as his lips press against mine. No, this is better than heaven. Oh my dear captain, I think you stole my heart and I find, no, I don't really want it back.

End

**I love this one, even if it is OC, but, I loooove it. **


	13. interrupted

Interrupted

Roronoa Zolo lay in the cool grass. Relaxed and quite peaceful. His swords lay by his side, one of his hands sitting protectively over their hilts. The breeze rippled gently, making the short, green strands that were Zolo's hair wave merrily. His tanned face was calm and a serene smile was playing about his lips as he dreamed peacefully. Sleep was a thing that Zolo could not go without, but then, he slept mainly because he had nothing better to do. It was quiet on the hillside, so quiet. But not for long!

"ZOLO!" came a loud, angry crowd. Zolo's eyes snapped open and his smile was replaced with a strong scowl. He could feel the vibrations of her heavy steps through the ground. He rolled over and sat up. Nami was indeed stomping up the hill towards him. He frowned and rubbed his face. He really didn't like that woman.

"Roronoa Zolo! You were supposed to be watching Luffy and now he's run off! So get up and go and find him!" Nami yelled. Zolo's face darkened.

"He's not a little kid. He can look after himself." Zolo muttered laying back down and folding his arms behind his head. Nami nudged him in the side with the toe of her expensive, red leather boots. Zolo glared at her.

"You know what he's like, please go and find him." Nami asked sweetly.

"That may work on the love cook. Won't work on me." Zolo replied, adding a loud yawn to the end. Well, Nami didn't appreciate being told her womanly wiles weren't going to work. She growled low in her throat and then rammed her foot into his…ahem, leg.

"You are so lucky you missed." Zolo growled, feeling just a little nervous. Nami smiled and raised her foot again.

"I won't next time unless you get up and find Luffy!" she yelled. Zolo groaned in an annoyed tone and got up, brushing the strands of grass out of his hair and off of his shirt.

"You really are the devil's advocate." Zolo growled grabbing his swords and storming away. Nami watched him go with a broad smile.

* * *

"One day, I am seriously going to consider killing that woman." Zolo muttered as he followed the road. Truth be told, Zolo didn't mind looking for his best friend. He just didn't like it when Nami bossed him around, which unfortunately was quite often. He sighed as he looked around.

"Maybe if I tied a piece of meat to a fishing line I would be able to catch him." Zolo muttered and then chuckled.

"Luffy…here little captain." he called half heartedly, whistling like he was calling a dog. He heard a giggle and turned to see…nothing. But someone had been there. Another giggle and Zolo spun again. Still no-one. This time it was a rustle and Zolo's eyebrow quirked as he saw a tiny bit of yellow, sitting just above the bushes beside the road. It looked like straw. Zolo shook his head, snuck over and…was shocked. Luffy's hat was sitting on a stick that had been pushed deep into the ground.

"RAH!" a voice yelled and Zolo jumped. He turned quickly, hands flying to his blades and then relaxed when he saw Luffy rolling on the ground, hands wrapped around his stomach as he laughed. Zolo shook his head.

"I really got you this time!" Luffy cried in between breaths. Zolo shook his head again in amusement.

"Yeah Luffy. You got me." Zolo replied. Luffy finally calmed down enough to get up. He took his hat off of the stick and placed it back on his head.

"You know you got me in trouble with Nami." Zolo said as he sat down beside a shady tree. A short look of guilt passed over Luffy's face.

"Sorry." he said. Zolo waved a hand dismissing it and closed his eyes. He was drifting off to sleep when something warm touched his lips. He recognised the feeling of a kiss.  
Kiss? Who by? Luffy was the only other person in the area so…  
Luffy was kissing him? Amazingly though, Zolo found he didn't care. In fact, he found he liked it. A lot. The warmth left him and he opened his eyes to see Luffy still leaning over him, fidgeting slightly.

"Luffy…apology accepted." Zolo said and then smiled. Luffy brightened immediately and leaned forward again.  
So, after all that, it had been worth being interrupted.

End

**Omg this was so lame. Zolo would not let Luffy sneak up on him like that and would not fall for a trick like that either. But then, would he...? Reviews please.**


	14. i hate the flu

I hate the flu 

Monkey D Luffy sat atop the figurehead. He shivered. It was getting cold, especially at 1 am. Luffy had been put on watch, seeing as they were soon to dock at an island. He shivered again and decided he should go up to the crow's nest so he could see better. Throwing out both arms, he stretched up to the crow's nest and latched onto the side. He pulled himself up and landed easily inside. Curling up, he shivered once more.

"It's so cold." he muttered, his teeth chattering. Wrapping his arms around himself, he sneezed and rubbed his nose. "Stupid cold air." and he stuck his tongue out.

Next morning, Sanji walked out onto the deck.

"Breakfast morons!" he shouted and then jumped out of the way as a flash of red zoomed past. He had only just moved in time. Everyone else came in a little less enthusiastically. When Sanji went back in, sure enough, there was Luffy, inhaling his food as per normal. He wasn't quite as fast though, and he stopped way before anyone else.

"Luffy?" Zolo asked. "You look a little pale. Are you okay?" Luffy smiled and then his face changed. His colour went from pale to white and he ran out, the door slamming shut behind him. Zolo hurried out after his friend. He looked around to see Luffy hanging over the side of the ship. Zolo hurried over and grabbed Luffy's shoulders so he wouldn't fall overboard. Luffy heaved again and Zolo rubbed the younger boy's back, trying to soothe him. It seemed to work and Luffy relaxed, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay now?" Zolo asked after a few moments of silence. Luffy nodded. Sweat was rolling down the boy's forehead and it felt like it was on fire when Zolo put his hand on the young man's brow.

"You're burning up. We'd better get you to Chopper." Zolo said. Luffy nodded and stood shakily. His knees wobbled and then gave out on him. Zolo sighed and picked the poor boy up. He was shivering and Zolo felt a little worried. He went back into the kitchen where Chopper was sitting at the table. The reindeer immediately jumped up when he saw Luffy in Zolo's arms and only half conscious.

"What happened?" Chopper asked as he examined Luffy.

"He was being sick over the side of the ship. I bet it had something to do with Sanji's cooking." Zolo replied.

"I doubt that. I think he finally woke up and saw you." Sanji responded.

"Better me than you. If he had seen you properly he would have died!"

"Oh yeah sword boy?"

"Yeah!" Zolo responded standing up. Luffy groaned and held his head.

"Quiet guys." Chopper said as he pulled a thermometer from Luffy's mouth. "He's too hot. We need to get him to bed." and then Chopper ballooned into his human form. He gently picked the sick captain up and carried him down to the boy's bunk. Nami and Zolo followed but everyone else stayed in the kitchen.

Luffy may be their captain, they may care about him, but, no way in hell were they going to get what Luffy had.

Chopper laid Luffy carefully in his hammock, then pulled out a little bottle of medicine.

"So…what's wrong with him?" Zolo asked.

"He's got influenza. The flu." Chopper replied as he shrunk down again.

"How could he have gotten that?" Nami asked.

"Exposure to the cold." Chopper explained. Zolo sighed.

"He was on night watch last night. I told him to take a coat." he said.

"I did too." Nami muttered putting a hand on her hip.

"Did you tell him he owed 5 interest on it for every hour he wore it?" Zolo asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, so?" Nami responded. Zolo sweat dropped.

"Never mind." he said and turned back to where Chopper was pouring medicine into a little cup. Chopper gently opened Luffy's mouth, poured the liquid in and closed it. Luffy immediately woke up and spat it out…all over Nami.

"Thanks Luffy." she said sarcastically and then walked out to get cleaned up. Zolo laughed.

"Luffy, you need to drink this." Chopper said pouring out some more. Luffy's eyes drooped and he fell back, asleep again.

"Here." Zolo muttered to Chopper and held out a hand for the cup. Chopper handed it over and then stepped back to watch interestedly as Zolo opened Luffy's mouth, poured the liquid in, closed the boy's mouth and then placed his hand over it, the other secured around Luffy's nose.

"Swallow." Zolo said. Luffy opened his eyes and shook his head, cheeks bulging as he tried to expel the liquid from his mouth. "Swallow or you won't breathe." Luffy gulped and Zolo let go. "Good boy." Luffy stuck his tongue out at Zolo and then rolled over. Zolo watched him.

"He needs that every few hours." Chopper stated and Zolo nodded.

"Ok." he said. Zolo watched Luffy far into the night, giving him the medicine as instructed and fell asleep at about 3 in the morning.

* * *

The sun crept into the room and gently pushed at Zolo's eyelids, warming his face. Zolo groaned and rolled away but, the sun had succeeded and he was awake.

"Damn, now I can't get back to sleep." he muttered. Yawning, he got up, realising he didn't have a blanket. Then he remembered why. He turned to find Luffy still in his hammock, eyes open and watching him.

"How do you feel today Luffy?" Zolo asked. Luffy took a deep breath through his mouth.

"My nose is all stuffed up and my throat hurts." the dark haired boy replied. Zolo nodded.

"Part of the flu I guess."

"I don't like it."

"Well, you should have worn a coat when you were on watch shouldn't you?"

"Sorry." Luffy muttered. He put a hand to his throat and rubbed. Zolo felt a twinge of pity and got up.

"Hang on, I'll go see if Chopper has anything to help you." he said and walked out. He found the reindeer in his lab.

"Hey Chopper. Have you got anything to soothe a sore throat?" Zolo asked. Chopper turned.

"Umm, no, not really, is it for Luffy?" he asked. Zolo nodded. "Oh, a lolly would help. Sucking on something sweet usually helps. Stimulates the saliva glands in the mouth and-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Zolo cut the reindeer off and thought a moment. "Where the hell am I going to get a lolly?" then realisation hit him. "Usopp…greeeeat." he said annoyed. He walked out and up the stairs to where Usopp was sitting on the deck, busy sketching something. Zolo walked up behind him and the long nose nearly had a heart attack.

"Could you not sneak up on me like that?" he cried and twisted around. Zolo sneered.

"You got a lollypop or somethin'?" Zolo asked. Usopp sighed and shook his head.

"Sanji confiscated it all." the liar said sadly. Zolo raised an eyebrow.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because Luffy got a hold of some of it and went psycho." Usopp muttered. Zolo sighed.

"So that means I have to see Sanji." he muttered. Usopp nodded.

"What do you want it for anyway?"

"Luffy has a sore throat and Chopper says that sucking on a lolly will help." he replied before walking lazily towards the kitchen.

_Why did it have to be Sanji of all people?_ he thought as he walked in. The blonde haired chef was leaning over the oven.

"Sanji?" he asked as he walked in, his teeth grinding as he tried to be nice.

"What the hell do you want?" Sanji responded as he pulled a tray of cookies from the oven, made especially for his beloved Nami.

"I need a lollypop." Zolo asked. Sanji laid the tray on top of the oven and turned to the swordsman with an eyebrow raised.

"Why?" the cook asked.

"It's for Luffy. He's got a sore throat and Chopper says sucking on a lolly would help." Zolo explained, getting rather annoyed. Why did he have to ask questions?

"Well…if it's for Luffy." and he walked over to a cupboard and pulled it open. He pulled out a lolly and threw it at the swordsman. Zolo caught it and nodded in thanks before walking out.

He went back down and found Luffy still awake in his hammock. He held the lolly towards Luffy who looked at him confused.

"Suck on it. Chopper says it'll help." he explained. Luffy nodded and undoing the wrapper, placed it in his mouth. He smiled.

"Thanks for looking after me Zolo." Luffy said croakily. Zolo shrugged.

"That's okay." and then he sneezed. "Oh no."

Zolo was lying in bed, his head stuffy. He had got the flu from Luffy, who by the way, was perfectly fine now. Zolo coughed and groaned. Luffy bounded in.

"Medicine." he chirped. Zolo glared and Luffy shrugged. "You won't get better if you don't take it."

"Oh you're just loving this aren't you?" Zolo sniffed. Luffy nodded.

"Revenge." he said. "Now open wide." and Luffy poured the horrible tasting liquid in.

End

**this was one of the first ever one piece stories I wrote. I had to change it because it had dub Sanji as the lollipop giver and I wrote this way before I found this site and began having no social life, and bags under my eyes from looking at the computer too much. anyway, enough about my personal problems. I haven't said this in ages but, Zolo plushie's for those who review!**


	15. Red Candy

Ever wondered why Luffy is not allowed to eat candy? Possibly because the rest of the crew is watching out for their beloved captain, hoping he won't get cavities.

Nope! Wrong answer.

Possibly because Zolo doesn't like the taste of candy when he kisses his captain?

Nope! Wrong answer.

Could it be that when he eats the red ones he goes completely ballistic? Ding ding ding. We have a winner!

Well, now you know the base line for the story, let's have some fun.

Luffy just happened to be in the kitchen when Usopp walked in with his hands filled with candy. He had blue, and green, and orange and OH! Red. Usopp had red candy! This made the captain jump up and down in his seat like he had a pin on his chair. Usopp stopped, watching his captain with large eyes.

"Oh, oh oh oh, Usoooooooopp, can I have some candy? Pleeeaaaassseeeee?" Luffy whined finally getting out of his seat and rushing towards the marksman. Sanji, yes he was in the room, turned and looked at Usopp carefully. Silently praying the liar would come up with some excuse not to give Luffy anything as he was sure the captain did not need the extra sugary energy.

"Sure Luffy." Usopp said before sitting down at the table. Sanji slapped his palm against his head. Stupid idiot, moronic…of all the stupidest, fucking things the marksman had done, this was the worst!

"Ah, Luffy. Maybe you should wait until dinner's ready to eat." Sanji said. Luffy looked up and blinked, his mouth a small 'o.

"No way man. Candy!" Luffy cried. Usopp handed an orange candy to Luffy, already unwrapped and a good thing it was, as the candy was in Luffy's mouth so fast, you'd swear it had teleported there. Sanji sighed. The orange was okay. It was the red he was worried about. Usopp handed over a handful of green ones and again Sanji slightly relaxed. But now, the only candies that were left, were red ones.

Oh lord, may he have mercy on their souls. Usopp handed the last red, that's red, candies to Luffy who threw them into his mouth. Sanji watched apprehensively as the captain chewed and then swallowed.

"Thanks Usopp. They were yummy!" and he bounded out of the kitchen. Sanji let out a last sigh of relief. As long as that whirlwind of a kid was out of his kitchen when the sugar attack happened, he didn't care. Unless of course something happened to the ship and they sank to the bottom of the sea. Then he would care, maybe.

Luffy ran outside. He spotted his first mate and boyfriend fast asleep by the mast. Poor, poor Zolo. Luffy bounded over and landed on his first mate's chest with a heavy thump. Zolo 'oofed' and opened his eyes, an annoyed look crossing his face.

"Luffy? Did you have to wake me?" he asked rubbing at his eyes and yawning. Luffy nodded.

"Guess what, guess what! Usopp gave me candy!" Luffy cried. Zolo's eyes, which had been closing, snapped open again and he looked at Luffy carefully.

_Please dear god let me have heard him wrong!_ Zolo thought.

"What?" he gulped.

"Candy! Usopp gave me green ones and orange ones and oh yeah, red ones!" Luffy cried. Uh-oh. Zolo gazed up at his captain. It wouldn't be long then. Luffy seemed already to be slipping into some sort of permanent grin.

"Oh…how…nice." Zolo muttered and gave a weak smile. Luffy jumped off of him and began jumping up and down. It had started.

"Zolo! I feel so energetic! Let's play!" and with that he grabbed Zolo's arm, stretched the other up to the crow's nest and flung both of them upwards, Zolo gritting his teeth as they came down again and landed right in Nami's orange trees.

Luffy immediately jumped up after landing and bounded off. He ran around the deck five times, Luffy's hand still firmly encircling Zolo's wrist might I add.

He jumped up the side of the mast, grabbed onto the boom and using his stretching, had flung both of them into the air…again. This time they came down on the deck, Zolo face first.

Poor, poor, poor Zolo. He was dragged off again as Luffy sprinted towards the kitchen. Zolo was only half conscious, having been smacked into nearly everything on the ship by now. Luffy reefed open the door, one hinge breaking and the whole door swaying on only one hinge, causing the chef and the marksman to look up.

Luffy stood in the doorway, shaking slightly, teeth bared in a gigantic smile, the brightness of which would have rivalled the sun.

"HiguyswhatyoucookingSanji? Canyouteachmehowtocook? WowUsoppthosecandiesweregreat!" Luffy cried at super speed and he whirled around the room, knocking the table over, knocking all the pots and pans from the cupboard, accidentally slamming a door into Sanji's face and grabbing Usopp's wrist in another vice grip.

Zolo looked up at Usopp as they were both dragged outside.

"Hi Usopp." he said. Usopp looked back at him, eyes so wide Zolo was sure he could fit inside of them with room to spare. Luffy swung his arms around above his head, causing the two poor souls to smash into each other and then Luffy finally let go.

They went flying through the air, Usopp smacking into the mast and Zolo smacking into the wall beside the half ripped off door of the kitchen. Sanji walked out, took one look at the now crazily spinning Luffy and walked straight back in, pulling the mangled door shut behind him.

Usopp was now lying on the deck unconscious and Zolo was rubbing the rapidly swelling bump on the back of his head. Luffy had stopped spinning and was now running around the ship…again. Zolo actually hoped for a moment that Luffy would fall over board and leave them in peace, until Luffy slipped and grabbed the rail. He began to laugh and fell to the deck laughing. He couldn't stop.

Zolo sweat dropped and cautiously walked over to his captain. Luffy was finally calming down. His laughter was becoming slightly strained and he was moving less. Zolo watched him carefully until soft snoring sounds could be heard. Zolo sighed, glad that nightmare was over. He stomped over to Usopp and glared down at the long nosed man with shadowed eyes. He picked Usopp up by the collar of his shirt and brought him to eye level.

Usopp finally came to, not the best time to do it, but, hey! Zolo gave him a smile and Usopp knew he was in deep trouble.

"You gave him red candy?" Zolo asked. Usopp gulped and nodded, his entire body beginning to shake. "You actually let him eat red candy?" Usopp nodded again, shaking violently. "You…IDIOT! WHY THE HELL DID YOU GIVE SOMEONE WHO WAS ALREADY HYPER, SUGAR? THE UTTER STUPIDITY!" Zolo screamed at the top of his lungs.

Usopp was so scared he passed out again and Zolo dropped him onto the deck. Sanji walked out.

"Is it over?" he asked. "Is it safe?" Zolo turned on him.

"Yeah…fast asleep…I'm going to nap." and he went over to Luffy, sat down beside the rail, pulled Luffy onto his lap and went to sleep.

The end

**he he he, well, now you know why you shouldn't let Luffy eat red candy. Don't ask me where this idea came from, it was very random.**


	16. I'm with you song fic

**The bold is the chorus, or is strong parts. Italics are like the chorus thingy's.**

**I'm with you.**

Song by Avril Lavigne

_I'm standing on the bridge _

Roronoa Zolo stood on the bridge, overlooking the dark water.

_I'm waiting in the dark_

Zolo threw the empty glass bottle over the edge where it slammed into the water with a loud splash.

_I thought that you'd be here, … by now._

He watched the ripples fade and the reflection of the lights of the city return to their original calm glitter.

_There's nothing but the rain_

Cold water trickling through his green hair made him aware of the rain that was swirling around him.

_No footsteps on the ground_

Silence except for the patter of the drops hitting the cement.

_I'm missing that there's no sound. _

Zolo placed a hand over his ear, trying to block out the silence.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_

He looked up as a car drove past.

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

Without a word, he turned and began walking towards the other end of the bridge.

_**It's a damn cold night!**_

Zolo shivered and pulled his collar up higher.

_**Tryin' to figure out this life. **_

His eyes shifted as he watched where he was stepping.

_**Won't you…take me by the hand, take me somewhere new?**_

Zolo's hands were stuffed deep in his pockets.

_**I don't know who you are, but I…**_

His green eyes closed as he walked and he made sure that he ignored his surroundings.

_**I'm with you…**_

_I'm with you. _

_I'm lookin' for a place._

Monkey D Luffy held his hat to his head as he walked along the side of the road.

_I'm searching for a face._

His black eyes looked around frantically.

_Is anybody here…I know._

Hands twitched as they grappled with the flapping raincoat. Why had he run?

_Cos' nothin's goin' right_

What had he said to offend him?

_And everything's a mess_

Luffy had stuffed it up again.

_And no-one likes to be alone. _

Tears mingled with the rain as he legs forced him to move forward, watching the space in front of him.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_

He noticed a dark figure in the rain.

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

Was it him?

_**It's a damn cold night!**_

Luffy's heart leapt.

_**Tryin' to figure out this life. **_

He ran forward, the raincoat fluttering to the ground behind him.

_**Won't you…take me by the hand, take me somewhere new?**_

Colliding with a hard chest, he wrapped his arms tightly around the body.

_**I don't know who you are, but I…**_

Zolo stood in shock as arms wrapped themselves around him.

_**I'm with you…**_

He brought his hands up carefully, fearing that if he gripped too tight, air would be all that would fill his arms.

_**I'm with you…yeah**_

Luffy sobbed loudly as arms encircled his shoulders.

_**Oh! Why is everything so…confusing?**_

"I'm sorry!" Luffy cried.

_**Baby, I'm just out of my mind**_

Zolo pulled his arms tight as uncontrollable sobs wracked his body.

_**Yeah, Yeah he yeah, yeah he yeah, yeah he yeah, yeah he yeah! Yeahhhhh!**_

The rain came down heavier, pummelling the two.

_**It's a damn cold night**_

Zolo pulled back slightly, looking down into Luffy's sad eyes.

_**Tryin' to figure out this life**_

Luffy gave a shaky smile and wiped at his cheek, rain dripping off the edges of his hat.

_**Won't you…take me by the hand, take me somewhere new?**_

Zolo leant forward…

_**I don't know who you are… but I…**_

Luffy leant up…

_**I'm With YOU!**_

Zolo pressed forward, lips meeting Luffy's in a passionate kiss.

_**I'm With YOU!**_

Rain splashed on their cheeks, but they were unhindered by it.

_**Won't you…take me by the hand, take me somewhere new?**_

Luffy's fingers intertwined with Zolo's as the other hand came up to rest against the taller man's neck.

_**I don't know who you are…but I…**_

Zolo placed his free hand on Luffy's wet cheek, fingers gently pushing the black, silken hair back as they broke apart.

_**I'm With YOU!**_

Luffy grinned up at his love.

_**I'm With YOU!**_

Zolo grinned back and he pulled his hand from Luffy's to place it around the boy's waist.

_**Take me by the hand, take me somewhere new**_

The rain weakened and finally stopped, becoming a soft drizzle.

_**I don't know who you are, but I…**_

Zolo turned, Luffy by his side…

_**I'm with you**_

Luffy rested his head on Zolo's shoulder…

_**I'm with you**_

…and together they walked home.

_**I'm with you.**_


	17. How did you do it?

**Holy heck peoples, I just discovered that I had wordpad on my computer. kicks self It so kicks notepad's butt!**

**How did you do it?**

Luffy gazed up at me, his bright smile seemingly engraved on his smooth face. All we had been through, all that had happened, how did he do it? I always remember thinking after a battle, how did Luffy manage to break through that barrier, the impenetrable wall that was his opponent? How was he able to fight, when his body was worn and nearly dead?

It seemed like Luffy was a superhero, swooping in with his rubber powers to save the day. And now, as he gazes up at me, almost so fragile in my arms that a single squeeze would make him break, and shatter into a million pieces.

He smiles at me, and I find myself smiling back, and wondering, how did he manage to figure me out? How did he realise that I wasn't as rough as I acted? It seemed almost impossible that someone as stupid, or dim witted as Luffy, actually managed to figure out the jigsaw puzzle that was me, but, he did it. His face is so beautiful, the way the light plays across his features as the sun slowly sets.

How did he do it? As he leans toward me, his hat pushed back to rest against his back, I finally understand. He did it for love. He did it to prove that he was worthy, to prove that he was one of the best. For his friends, for his pride, and for the purpose of simply fighting for what is right. And as his lips touch mine, I begin to understand.

He did it for me.


	18. How far would you go?

**I was watching One Piece the other day, (surprise surprise) and I thought of something I had read. It was a pirate novel and the captain died, so the first mate killed himself, leaving a message to the rest of the crew saying that a first mate has to follow the captain wherever he goes, even if he leaves the mortal realm. Don't ask me what book it was cos I can't remember, but, I thought, let's write a One Piece version, only without the death. (I have to stop writing death/suicide fics. they really get me down.) So, enjoy! **

**How far would you go?**

The universe is a wide expanse of stars and planets and comets and other beautiful objects that could be seen in the night sky. A black and blue sky, and stars that sparkled like diamonds. There was the tinniest sliver of a moon that barely stood out in the centre of the sky.

The light it cast, a dim shadowy mist in the warm night air. A lone figure stood on the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean. His small, lanky body was proud and tall as he gazed out at the sea.

This was Monkey D Luffy, captain of the ship the Merry Go, woken from his fitful sleep by another nightmare. His red vest whipped around him in the breeze, and a hand slowly rose to hold his hat firmly atop his messy black hair.

The only sound to be heard was the soft rustling of the waves and the gentle slap of the waves against the hull of the ship. The young captain was silent, reviewing what had happened in his dream. There was the slightest of rustles and Luffy looked over his shoulder to see Zolo walking towards him. He smiled and shook his head.

"What are you doing out here Luffy?" the swordsman asked. Luffy sighed.

"Watching the stars." he replied. Zolo laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Are you alright?' he asked. Luffy bowed his head, his hair falling over his eyes.

"How far would you go?" he muttered. Zolo raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"How far would you follow me?" Luffy asked suddenly, turning and gazing at Zolo with sparkling bright eyes.

"As far as I had to." Zolo replied not really understanding where Luffy was going with this.

"Would you follow me to the other side of the world?"

"Yes."

"Would you follow me to the clouds?"

"…yes."

"Would you follow me to the moon?"

"Luffy…?"

"Would you?"

"I guess. But, why are you asking me this?"

"Because Zolo, I have to know." and Luffy bowed his head again, resting his forehead against Zolo's chest. Zolo paused a moment.

"What happened Luffy? Another nightmare?" he asked softly, bringing a hand up to lay it against the back of Luffy's head. Luffy nodded, his hat gently nudged back by the movement. Zolo tightened his hold and pulled Luffy against him, hugging him to his chest. Luffy didn't move, didn't shiver and he didn't make a sound. "Luffy, don't hold it in. It'll eat you from the inside if you do. Just…let it out. It's only us." he said quietly. Luffy shuddered and took a step back, Zolo let him go.

"I…I was in my hometown and, everyone was talking to me, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Trace was there and…he said that I wasn't worth following. He said he was leaving because I was a burden. Then, everything went black and voices were whispering at me, telling me what I was doing was a stupid idea…" and he trailed off, his shoulders shaking.

Zolo paused a moment before wrapping his arms around Luffy and pulling him in again. Luffy sobbed against his chest and Zolo was quiet, rubbing his hand gently over Luffy's back until he calmed.

"Luffy…you have to remember, the crew is here because of you, not the other way around. You asked me how far I would follow you… I will follow you for as long as you want me to. I would go wherever you wanted me to go. That's the job of a first mate… and a friend." Zolo said. Luffy pulled back a little and gazed up at Zolo's dark eyes.

"Zolo…" Luffy began but Zolo planted a soft kiss on his lips. Luffy's lips tasted salty from his tears but Zolo didn't mind. He was content to be allowed this close to his captain. He pulled back, but only far enough so he could talk.

"I love you captain." he whispered. Luffy giggled quietly. "…and, I would go to the stars for you."

end

**Soooooo, what did ya think?**


	19. Thankyou!

This is just a quick section where I say something to my reviewers so far. First of all,

,'','' **THANKYOU **'','', (the little things beside this were supposed to be sparkles, but stupid thingy didn't work.

Second, I wanna say that I appreciate all the support you have given me,

**Lady Zoro:** Yes, Zolo is the sex-god of heaven and earth combined! And thankyou for accepting me writing Zoro as Zolo.

**Let'seatscabbers: **I love your nick! It made me laugh the first time I saw it. Although, I have a hard time thinking roasted Peter Pettigrew would be tasty. lol. Thanks for reviewing and everything, and uh, yeah. Thanks. Squee is the best thing people can say in my opinion. XP

**Treestar: **He he he, I am glad my stories brought you smiles and stuffs. I love reading reviews and you make me so happy when you send me heaps of reviews. Gah, HUGS YOU Thankyou! (I am in a very happy mood right now. -.- ) Also, Rumble is one of my fav stories atm, I know I have told you this in my reviews but, I loooooooove it so much. It's so original and it is so tute! (not a typo, means cute. I just say it 'tute') I also think you should have Luffy do something with Nami while he is still small. I have this picture in my head of a map with tiny, Luffy sized, black ink footprints going across the centre of it, makes me giggleevery time. Also, with Zolo guessing what Luffy's piece of art was, well done. That proves how close the two are. Keep going!

**Blizzarddrake: **The internet rocks and I know I have already replied to your review, but, thanks. Although, I would rather have cash. :P

**fightingcomet: **True, I guess Luffy could beat Zolo. My all time favourite episode is when they fight at Misty Peak. So awesome! I had to tape it whenI played because I love it that much. I just couldn't believe how evenly matched they were and everything! Annnnnnd, Luffy was fighting against Zolo's swords, so, that had to prove something about him. Tee hee, the arm wrestling one was one of my favourites.

**Shiruji-chan: **Tee hee, red candy, did you find any went you went to the cupboard, or was it bare? Tee hee. And it's cool about Saturday night. Don't have to worry about a thing. Although I drew an adorable pic that I want to show you. Make sure you come on next Sat, or I may be on Sun night, don't know.

**Mirathin: **It's okay, fangirling is awesome when it's called for. Which is anytime Luffy and Zolo do anything cute! or for love! Or you know what I mean. Thanks!


	20. rules and guidelines

**Rules and Guidelines**

Roronoa Zolo never put much stock in rules, nor did he really pay attention to any guidelines either. Possibly, this was one of the reasons he had become a pirate, not that they broke _that _many rules.

Although, as Zolo watched Luffy stretch an arm across the ship to grab the mast and fling himself around, not only did the normal rules like 'Do not steal' and 'Trespassers will be prosecuted' not apply but the laws of gravity were also broken. Luffy stretched, flew, and was stronger than any person that small could even dream of.

Luffy snapped across the ship and jumped onto the upper deck, causing Usopp to start yelling about how Luffy had wrecked his newest masterpiece. Zolo chuckled, listening to the continuing rants and raves, interrupted occasionally by Luffy's loud, happy laughing.

Luffy definitely broke all the rules, guidelines, laws and regulations.

Not to mention he had broken through the strong barrier the swordsman had built around his heart and as Luffy appeared in front of him, smile nearly as wide as the ship itself, the swordsman was glad that Luffy had done so.

**End**

**That was rather short and pointless, but, hey, it was kinda cute. **


	21. Love Potion

**Love Potion**

It started on a warm day, in the middle of a town on a small island. The Merry Go had docked to stock up on supplies when Luffy had bolted into the town with a cry of 'MEAT!' Nami had then volunteered Zolo for the job of going to find the boy.

Zolo had sniggered and replied with a few dirty curses which, of course, meant he got a kick in the gut that sent him off the side of the ship.

Zolo had then spat out sand as he cursed and grouched his way into the town. Finding Luffy in a nearby restaurant, Zolo had no idea what was about to happen.

"Luffy, you know you can't just run off like that. You're gonna get lost again." Zolo sighed, now sitting in the chair beside Luffy at the table. Obviously, he had found the captain at the closest restaurant and was now waiting for the younger boy to finish.

Luffy gulped down the food he had been chewing, his cheeks returning to their normal size again.

"Aw Zolo. I'll always find my way back, you know that." Luffy replied before ripping into his food again. Zolo, who _had _been feeling hungry, now looked on in distaste as Luffy inhaled his food. A waitress wandered over and placed two bottles of root beer in front of the two men.

"Compliments from some person who wandered in before." she said. Luffy immediately dived on it, ripping the top off and drinking down the contents in one gulp. He paused a moment, licking his lips, face contorted in thought and then he shrugged and continued with his food.

Zolo, not willing to forgo a free drink, picked it up and drank it. The root beer tasted a little flat but it was alright he supposed and he finished it.

Over the other side of the room, Nami, Sanji and Usopp cracked up as they saw Luffy and Zolo drink the drinks.

"Now the fun begins." Nami muttered.

"Aren't you glad the great Usopp came up with this plan?" Usopp praised himself. Sanji whacked him up the back of the head.

"It was the beautiful Nami who thought this up, not you." he hissed. Usopp looked slightly offended but he shrugged it off as they watched the captain and first mate interact.

Zolo paused and looked over at Luffy, who had stopped eating to look at his swordsman. Zolo was suddenly noticing how wide Luffy's eyes were and how close the boy was to him.

Luffy was noticing his swordsman's hair, the greenness of it and the softness of how it swayed with each slight movement Zolo made. Totally forgetting his food, Luffy reached out a hand to gently brush over the top of Zolo's hair. The older pirate smiled and stood.

"You wanna go for a walk?" Zolo asked. Luffy looked at his food and then smiled, getting up as well.

"Sure." he replied and the two walked out, seemingly unaware that they were being followed. Walking together, the two couldn't take their eyes off of each other.

"Your eyes are so big." Zolo said as they walked. Luffy ducked his head down, hiding them under his hat. "In a good way." the swordsman hurriedly said. The captain looked up with a bright smile.

"Thanks." the younger man replied. Zolo smiled in return. They left the busy streets of the town and began walking down a quiet dirt road. Luffy's hand found Zolo's and their fingers intertwined.

"Zolo, you have really strong hands." Luffy said looking up at his new found love. Zolo shrugged.

"Fighting with swords will do that." he replied.

"Not to mention all the training you do." Luffy put in. Zolo smirked and nodded. Luffy paused a moment to look up at the sky. Zolo stopped as well.

"Look at the clouds Zolo. They're so fluffy today." the captain said. Zolo looked up and nodded again.

"Yeah." then he looked down at the smaller boy again. Luffy turned to smile up at the older man. Zolo turned and gently placed a hand around Luffy's waist. Pulling his captain closer, he bent down slowly and kissed the younger boy's lips.

The hand around Luffy's waist tightened, pulling the straw hat fully against the swordsman's body. Luffy's arms came up to wrap around the back of Zolo's neck.

Nami, Sanji and Usopp, hiding behind the bushes, all gasped softly as Zolo bent down and kissed their captain.

"Wow. That potion works so well, it was worth the money we paid." Usopp said softly. Nami slammed a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up or Zolo will hear you." she hissed. Usopp nodded.

Zolo pulled away, his eyes still closed as he savoured the taste of his captain's lips. Luffy smiled and rested his head on the swordsman's chest.

"Should we tell them?" he whispered. Zolo smirked and gave a slight nod.

"Gee, Nami, Sanji and Usopp would be very surprised to know I kissed you Luffy." Zolo said loudly, and sarcastically. Luffy snorted.

"Yeah they would Zolo." Luffy replied. There was a rustle and the two turned towards the bushes that lined the side of the road. "Come out." Luffy called. There was another short rustle and then Nami stood up from behind the bushes, followed by Sanji, his hands in his pocket and an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Usopp was last, shaking slightly as he appeared. Luffy let his first mate go and smiled at them.

"You should know better than that." Zolo mocked, his arm still around Luffy's waist. "I saw you guys sneak in and I swear if you had been any louder while we were walking I would have been able to find you in the dark." Luffy chuckled at this.

"So, you didn't actually drink the drinks?" Sanji asked. Zolo snorted.

"I saw you fawning over the waitress before pointing at us. Of course I didn't drink it. Luffy didn't drink it either."

"But, how did you know not to drink it?" Nami asked, annoyed that her trick had failed. Zolo chuckled and looked to Luffy who grinned widely.

"I heard you guys talking a love potion for me and Zolo, before I left." Luffy crowed, leaning against the swordsman, who didn't seem to notice, or didn't care.

"That was your fault Usopp!" Nami and Sanji both growled, looking to the marksman. Luffy and Zolo chuckled.

"But, you guys kissed and everything!" Usopp cried, ignoring the two who were currently glaring at him. Luffy grinned and Zolo's arm tightened convulsively around Luffy's waist.

"Yeah, well, we've been together for a while." Zolo muttered, blushing ever so slightly. Luffy nodded.

"Yup, we just kept it a big secret from you all. What did you think we did during all those trips to town on every island we landed on for the past month?"

"Ate?" Sanji asked. Luffy pouted.

"Yeah, but we were spending time together you shitty cook." Zolo said. Sanji glared and Luffy poked his tongue out, looking so adorably cute the other three just couldn't stay mad at him.

"So you ruined all my fun." Nami said with a smile. "But, oh well, I can charge you for a waste of my time now pay up!"

"Ah, Nami is so wonderful when she is demanding money." Sanji cooed. Zolo frowned.

"Get stuffed." he replied. Sanji frowned but before he could start anything, Luffy had leaped up onto Zolo's shoulders and the swordsman had turned and began walking away, the two howling with laughter.

"Outwitted by a fool and his lover." Sanji muttered as he lit his cigarette.

"Which is which?" Usopp asked, resting a finger on his chin in thought. Sanji shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, they're interchangeable." he replied and the two snorted with laughter.

"Next time, we trick Luffy and Chopper." Nami said and then smiled.

**End**

**Scream if you want more stories. Tee hee, no seriously cos I still have many many ideas. **


	22. To fly

**To fly**

As Zolo watched Luffy fly towards him, having gum gum rocketed himself from the other side of the Island, he honestly couldn't understand why the boy liked crashing into the ground and ending up in a ditch like some sort of freaky rubber mess.

He thought it may have been because Luffy was trying to prove he was tough, but that didn't really pan out because Luffy, in his opinion, didn't really care if anyone thought he was tough or not. With Luffy, it only depended on which side you were on when it came to if Luffy was tough or not.

Then Zolo thought it might have been because Luffy was able to do it and therefore the option was open that the boy could do it whenever he wished. After all, not many people could used there arms like a slingshot.

Then the swordsman had been completely baffled by the whole entire thing and so, now as Luffy landed beside him, kicking up a dust storm worthy of Crocodile's collection, he asked him.

"Luffy, why do you do that?" Zolo asked as Luffy brushed the dirt off of his shirt. Luffy looked up, his face blank for a moment before it split into a gigantic smile.

"Why do I do what Zolo?" the captain asked. Zolo shrugged.

"Sling yourself around like that."

"Oh, that. Because it's fun." Luffy replied. Zolo sighed. He should have known there wasn't anything behind it and was about to walk away when a soft voice added, "And because I want to fly." Zolo paused and looked back at Luffy who grinned.

"Yeah, ever since I was little I have always wanted to fly. It's so cool how birds can go so high and they can see everything! I would love to do that! And when I do Gum gum rocket, I'm flying, if only for a little while, but, I have the ability to get as close to flying as I want." Luffy said before grinning and running back towards the ship.

Zolo was stunned for a second and then a slow smile spread across his face.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Hey Zolo?" Luffy asked. Zolo opened his eyes after kissing his captain for the third time that morning.

"Yeah?" he replied. Luffy tilted his head.

"Why do you do that?" Luffy asked. Zolo's eyebrows furrowed.

"Do what?"

"Kiss me all the time." Luffy responded. Zolo smiled.

"Because, when I kiss you, it's like I'm flying."

**End**

**Awwww/shiruji, I'm borrowing your kitten eyes/ -kitten eyes- **


	23. Bad day

**Bad day**

Luffy pouted as he gazed out to sea. He didn't feel…happy today. In fact, he felt rather down. He sighed and looked around. Zolo was sleeping by the mast, Nami was sunbaking outside the kitchen door, Sanji was fluttering around nearby, hearts and sparkles announcing that he was thoroughly enjoying watching the object of his desires, namely Nami.

Usopp was up in the crow's nest, and had asked that no one disturb him as he was working on some highly delicate slingshot bullets and Chopper was helping him. Luffy let out a little whine and then looked back out to the horizon. The day was grey and boring, the clouds having covered the sky.

"Land!" Usopp called from his perch in the Crow's nest. Nami sat up, and looked up.

"How far?" she asked. Usopp was silent for a moment and then said,

"Not far, should be able to see it soon."

"Thanks Usopp!" Nami called and then got up and pulled her shirt on over her tank top. Sanji almost died before retreating to his kitchen with a heartbroken whimper. Luffy brightened slightly and turned again to look at his navigator.

"Do I get some money to spend Nami?" Luffy cried, hoping to jar that soft side that Nami had in an attempt to get money so he could do what he always does of course, eat meat!

"No Luffy. Not this time." Nami replied. Luffy whined.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you spent a month's worth of stealing on the last island we landed on." Nami responded, irritated. Luffy pouted.

"Only cos' the guy charged heaps of money for his meat!" Luffy responded. Nami rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"Right. Of course." she muttered sarcastically before walking into the kitchen, where the cries of Sanji fawning over Nami could be heard. Zolo rolled his eyes from where he was laying against the mast, annoyed that he had been woken up by the shitty cook.

He spotted Luffy on the figure head, and his eyebrows furrowed gently. Luffy didn't seem…right. He seemed to be rather out of it actually, like he was in permanent daydream mode.

Getting up, Zolo sauntered over, one hand in his pocket and the other resting on the handle of his swords. He leaned on the rail next to Luffy, who turned to him with a smile that was a little less wide than usual.

"What's up Captain?" Zolo asked, following the younger boy's line of sight towards the island. Luffy shook his head.

"Nothin'."

"Doesn't look like nothing. Wanna talk about it?" Zolo asked softly. Luffy tensed and looked around.

"No." he replied a little defensively. He looked back out at the quickly approaching island in silence. Zolo waited a moment and then a small voice called him back.

"Zolo. I feel weird." Luffy said. Zolo tilted his head.

"Weird how? Sick? Tired?" the first mate asked. Luffy shook his head.

"No, I just don't feel happy like usual and … I feel like I just have nothing to be happy about. I mean I should, right? I have a crew full of awesome friends and I'm heading towards One Piece, but…" and he trailed off with a sigh. Zolo let a tiny smile twitch at the corners of his mouth.

_Luffy's experiencing a bad day. _He thought. Zolo knew just what to do.

"Well, how about this…when we get to the island, I'll take you to a restaurant and buy you heaps and heaps of meat." he suggested. It took barely a minute for Luffy's face to brighten and that large, blinding smile to sweep across his face.

"Gee, would you? Thanks Zolo!" Luffy cried. He jumped over the rail, grabbed Zolo's neck with his hand and pulled him into a quick kiss before running off, whooping for joy. Zolo stayed in that position, his eyes wide and his lips still in mid pucker, before a wide smile crept it's way onto his face and brightened his whole face.

"Oi Luffy!" Zolo cried and hurried after the boy, "Do you want me to buy you some meat tomorrow as well?"

**End**

**Gah! And that's all I have to say about that. XP**


	24. Angels are for real

**_Angels are for real_**

**Zolo's POV**

I never really believed in angels and no way did I believe in God. It was silly to think that there was some sort of mystical being watching over me and protecting all the earth and it's inhabitants. I controlled my destiny, and I controlled what happened in my life and there was no way that someone would convince me other wise, although many tried.

When I was caught by the marines, I knew then that there was no such thing as a God. After all, why would the Big guy let me get captured and tied to a damn post in the middle of a bare courtyard under a blazing hot sun to die. I truly believed that there was no way I was going to get out of this.

Well, as it turns out, my beliefs are wrong. As the small man in front of me grins in my face, his mouth stretched so wide I could swear it was hurting, I thought. Someone is here to save me, someone is actually going to take me away from this torment. That was one thing proven wrong. Maybe there was a God, and he had just been taking his time in finding the right guy to rescue me.

Well, there was another thing proven wrong and I began to relax my thoughts of how if there was a God, how could he let me suffer?

The only thing I truly turned my thoughts around about was angels. If there were angels, and if they did watch over someone, then Luffy had to be one. A rather stupid, silly, and idiotic angel, but an angel none the less.

And as I see him smiling at me, sitting upon the figurehead, the sun setting behind him. The straw hat upon his head is reminiscent of a halo, and the fluffy clouds floating in the sky look like wings. I chuckle and he laughs, even though he doesn't have a clue what he's laughing about. Now I believe in angels, and I'm glad to say, I love mine.

**End**

**Hmm, I like this one. I am proud of this one.**


	25. drunk

**Drunk**

Luffy watched as Zolo took another careful sip from the dark bottle. All afternoon the swordsman had been doing this, and Luffy didn't really understand why, but it looked like it would be cool, so, why not? If Zolo could drink, so could he. At least, that's what the little captain thought as Zolo drank the last of the alcohol and proceeded to get up and throw the bottle into the kitchen where there was a dull thunk and Zolo pulled out his swords with a smile. Luffy rolled his eyes and smiled. Here it came.

"You fucking Marimo!" Sanji's voice was heard before the cook was even seen and then the blonde came out from the kitchen, sleeves still rolled up and a large lump forming on the back of the chef's head.

"Throw your goddamn bottles at Luffy if you _must _throw them at someone!" Sanji yelled as he approached.

"Why would I do that? I like Luffy, unlike you." Zolo replied and then it was on. Sanji growled and drove his leg out with a powerful kick that Zolo dodged and then the swordsman swung out and just missed Sanji's chest. The chef back flipped and brought his toe up, meaning to catch Zolo's chin with it, but the Santoryu artist was smarter than that and was already out of the way.

Luffy watched the fight, not really interested as the two had done this many times. Instead, he decided it was time to try this drink that Zolo seemed to like so much. Zolo was cool, therefore, drinking must be cool too, right? That's how Luffy saw it anyway.

He jumped down from the rail he had been sitting on and walked towards the storeroom, which seemed to be the place where most of the alcohol was kept. He found the door and opened it. Luffy hummed as he walked into the room and looked around. There they were, all lined up in a row by the big bags of flour. There was a crash from above and then Nami yelling something about how men could be so immature. Luffy shrugged and continued towards his goal.

Zolo slid his swords back into their sheaths after Nami had yelled at the two fighting men to quit it or they would owe her, well, something that had a lot of zero's on the end. Sanji gave the swordsman one last vehement glare and then floated after Nami.

Zolo curled his lip and then sat down by the mast again, thinking he would take a nap, but what he quickly realised, was that he actually wanted a drink. So, he got up again and walked boredly towards the storeroom. He heard a giggle and paused, his hand inches from the nob of the door. He raised an eyebrow and walked in to see Luffy sitting on the floor. That wasn't the unusual thing though. There were five, yes five, empty bottles of rum sitting around Luffy. Zolo almost screamed but instead, his eye twitched and his mouth dropped open.

"Zzzzzzoloooooooo!" Luffy cried, very obviously drunk. Now, how Luffy could manage to stay awake after all that alcohol, was beyond the swordsman's train of thought, which was currently heading down the track of, 'Holy shit, he drank all of my rum!' Zolo let out a weird sort of whimper before walking over to the drunk rubber man.

Bending down, he threw Luffy's arm over his shoulder and pulled the smaller boy up.

"Naaa Zzzzolo. I can get up by myself." Luffy cried, his speech seriously impaired that the words just seemed to slur together. Zolo raised an eyebrow and let the boy go. Luffy didn't even stay straight for half a second and Zolo had to bend quickly to grab Luffy before he hit the floor.

"Okay, need to get you to bed." Zolo muttered and then began dragging the boy towards the men's quarters.

"Nooooo. I wanna go and see the ssssunssset. He he he." Luffy responded and began moving in the opposite direction. Zolo sighed and followed, trying to pull Luffy back, but the captain was still strong despite his drunkenness. And, of all the cursed luck, the first person to see Luffy drunk, other than Zolo, was Sanji. The cook was walking down to the store room to get some food to make dinner.

"Hey Ssssanji!" Luffy cried before banging into a wall and then giggling hysterically.

"What the hell happened to him?" Sanji asked. Zolo raised an eyebrow.

"What does it look like. The idiot got drunk… on all of my rum!" He replied. Sanji chuckled.

"Poor Zolo. Come on. Let's get the stupid bastard back to bed." Sanji said. The combined effort of the two second strongest men on the ship was still not enough to dissuade their drunk captain from going to see the sunset.

Luffy reached the deck and looked around. He spread his arms wide and nearly fell over backwards, arms windmilling to keep himself upright. The sun had already set and Luffy whined disappointedly. Zolo and Sanji walked up behind him.

"See your sunset captain?" Zolo asked. Luffy turned and swayed, his eyes sad.

"No. The day's over and I didn't even get to see it." he replied. Sanji raised his curly eyebrow.

"He must be drunk, he's making sense." the cook muttered. Luffy's eyes drooped and he swayed again, more violently this time. Zolo caught him and picked him up, sweeping the smaller man into his arms easily.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" Sanji asked irritated. Zolo glared at the chef before walking back down towards the men's quarters again.

"What happened to Luffy?" Chopper asked from behind him. The swordsman jumped, not having heard the little reindeer come up behind him. Zolo smirked.

"He's got drunk." the green haired man replied. Chopper squealed and began running in circles.

"Drunk? I have to cure it! I'll go look in my medical journals!" and he ran off as fast as his little hooves could carry him. Zolo chuckled and walked into the men's quarters, Luffy fast asleep in his arms and snoring lightly. The swordsman gently lay Luffy down in his hammock, placed his hat on the little shelf that was made especially for it and then pulled the covers up over his captain.

"Sleep tight captain." he muttered before leaning down and quickly placing a kiss on the smaller boy's forehead.

Luffy woke up the next day with his head hurting like someone had been ramming a large… something against his brain.

"Urgh." he muttered and placed a hand against his forehead. His stuck his tongue out and swiped a hand over it, trying to wipe whatever fuzzy thing had decided to take up residence in his mouth off.

"Awake I see." an amused voice said from beside him, making the captain wince as his head throbbed.

"Zolo?" he muttered and then cleared his throat. There was a chuckle.

"Yep. See what happens when you try something you shouldn't." Zolo replied. Luffy looked over, forcing his eyes to open and look at the green haired man's face. Something warm was pushed into Luffy's hands.

"How can you drink that stuff Zolo, it was nasty." Luffy muttered as he gazed at his first mate's face and it slowly came into focus. Zolo shrugged.

"It tastes better when you get used to it, and I've been drinking it for a long time." he replied. Luffy nodded but stopped quickly as it hurt.

"I feel horrible. Worse than when Chopper gives me a shot." he muttered. There was a slight shift of his hand and then a cup was pushed against his lips. He opened his mouth obediently and then hot liquid that tasted bitter was flowing into his mouth. He sputtered and closed his mouth, unfortunately he had to swallow and did so before sticking his tongue out and coughing.

"Yuck!" he cried. Zolo laughed.

"It's coffee. It'll help." he said. Luffy shook his head despite the pain. "Come on. You drank most of it anyway." Luffy shook his head again.

"It's tastes horrible." he argued.

"GOOD MORNING!" a loud voice yelled into the room. Luffy yelped and put his hands over his ears.

"Get out you blonde bastard!" Zolo returned.

"Awww, just greeting a new day!" Sanji yelled and then snickered. He walked over to Luffy's bed and bent over the whimpering boy and said quietly, "Sorry. How are you feeling?"

"Like hell." Luffy replied annoyed. Sanji chuckled.

"Yep. Drinking'll do that to ya." the chef muttered before standing straight again.

"Sanji!" a musical feminine voice called. Sanji was gone in a flash, running towards Nami with lightning fast speed. Zolo and Luffy looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Come on, drink the last of the coffee or it'll get cold and taste even worse." Zolo cajoled. Luffy sighed and took the cup and drank it. He poked his tongue out when it was finished and swiped a hand over his tongue again.

"What are you doing?" Zolo asked. Luffy peered at him.

"My tongue feels fuzzy." he replied and swiped his hand over it again.

"Doing that won't help."

"What should I do?"

"This," and Zolo quickly leant forward and kissed Luffy gently. When Luffy didn't pull away, he deepened the kiss and ran his tongue over Luffy's. He pulled away and smiled.

"Better?" he asked. Luffy was in shock and then he smiled, a light pink tinge on his cheeks.

"Yeah. Much."

**End**

**He he he, I have never been drunk and will strive to never do so but I know people that do and get massive hangovers and this is their explanations to me sort of. -shrugs- **


	26. how to ride

**How to ride**

Luffy and Zolo were walking down a deserted road, their hands intertwined. There was a loud whinny and Luffy looked around and his face brightened.

"Look Zolo, a horse!" he cried. Zolo sighed and looked around to see a beautiful palomino gelding standing by the fence, it's tail swishing merrily as it gazed at the two with doleful eyes. (a/n I used to have a horsie just like this. XP) It blinked and Luffy sighed.

"He's so pretty Zolo!" he cried before letting go of the swordsman's hand to run over to it. The horse's ears pricked and it gave a short snort. Luffy reached out a hand and began rubbing the horse's nose.

"I wonder if he has a name." Luffy muttered. The horse nuzzled Luffy's hand and the captain chuckled.

"Hey, look there's a saddle." Zolo said suddenly, pointing to the fence beside the horse. He walked over and leaned over the fence to inspect the horse's back. Indeed there was a saddle mark there.

"Someone must have been riding him earlier." Zolo muttered and then leaned back.

"Wanna learn how to ride?" Luffy asked. Zolo started and turned to the smaller man.

"You know how to ride a horse?" he asked. Luffy nodded.

"Yup. The guy back in my home town taught me. He owned heaps of horses and there was this one called Slip who I used to go and ride all the time. It's fun!" Luffy cried. Zolo raised an eyebrow.

"Sitting on a hard saddle, with a big animal between your legs? I don't think so." (a/n Now, get your sick minds out of the gutter, that doesn't mean what you think it means. Sigh) he said sarcastically. Luffy shook his head.

"What… are you afraid?" he asked. Zolo stiffened and snorted.

"I'm not afraid, but I ain't stupid either."

"Aww, wittle Zolo's afwaid of a big bad horsie." Luffy mocked. Zolo's teeth gritted together.

"Fine." he snapped. "Teach me how to ride if it'll shut you up." Luffy let out a yelp of happiness and then jumped over the fence. Zolo followed, less enthusiastically. The horse snorted as Luffy grabbed the saddle and then placed it gently on the animal's back. He then grabbed the bridle and slipped it over the horse's head, gently pushing the bit into the horse's mouth.

The palomino shook his head and Luffy pulled the forelock out with a little tug which stopped the horse's shaking. He then gave the mane a quick brush with his fingers before going around and pulling the girth up gently. He performed all of this easily, like he had done it a million times. Luffy pulled the girth up, making sure it was tight enough that the saddle wouldn't slip off and then looked at Zolo.

"How do you know he's even rideable?" the swordsman asked. Luffy sighed.

"I'll ride him first if it'll make you happy." and without even stretching, he swung onto the horse's back. The palomino barely even noticed the weight, but it's head pulled in gracefully as soon as Luffy took up the reins. He gave the horse a quick pat on the neck before squeezing his legs gently against the horse's side. The palomino walked away, leaving Zolo to lean on the fence and watch apprehensively.

Luffy barely extruded any effort at turning and soon he had picked up the pace, going into a trot. He rose and sat and rose and sat and Zolo didn't think he would be able to do that. Then, Luffy cantered and didn't it look beautiful. The horse had a slow gait, but it was graceful and the horse did long stride's, making it seem like it was a rocking horse. Luffy was grinning, hat having slipped off his head to rest against his back.

He cantered around for a while, before coming back towards Zolo and stopping in front of the doubtful swordsman. He swung off and the horse nuzzled Luffy as he walked past. Luffy giggled and gave the horse a short pat before turning to Zolo again. The first mate sighed.

"Do I really have to?" he asked. Luffy rolled his eyes.

"Come on. Alright, how about this. You get on the horse and I'll sit in front of you and you can just hold on then?" Luffy asked. He was obviously determined to get his boyfriend on the horse. Zolo chewed on his lip and then nodded.

"Ok. Now, I'll get on the horse, and then you'll have to get up behind me." Luffy said and then gave Zolo a questioning look. Zolo nodded again. But, he didn't know how to get up!

"Luffy?" he asked quietly. Luffy paused, his foot still in the stirrup. "I-I don't know how." he muttered. Luffy smiled.

"That's alright. Here, I'll help. You can get up before me, and I'll just stretch on. Now, put your left foot in the stirrup and stand close to the horse." Luffy instructed. Zolo did as he was asked and then noticed that his swords were in the way, but he wasn't really willing to leave them, but, Luffy really wanted him to do this, so he quickly untied them and placed them against the fence before going back and putting his foot in the stirrup again.

"Now, place your right hand on the back of the saddle and your other hand on the front. Don't worry about it slipping because I'm holding it. Be careful not to push on his neck as you get up because you'll hurt him. Use your legs to push yourself up." Luffy instructed as he held the saddle in place. Zolo did so and ended up on his belly in the saddle.

"Now what Luffy?" he asked. Luffy poked his right leg.

"Swing that one over, but gently or you'll fall off the other side." he replied. Zolo did so and settled into the saddle. Luffy hurried around to the other side of the horse and held the stirrup so Zolo could place his foot in it. Luffy grinned up at him.

"See? Not so bad is it?" he asked. Zolo smiled uneasily.

"But, don't you need to put your feet in those?"

"Nope, I can ride without them." and he stretched his leg over in front of Zolo and then pulled himself up quickly and with considerably less trouble than Zolo had. He was soon sitting in front of Zolo, his smaller body fitting comfortably against the older man's. He moved forward a little.

"Move forward so you're sitting in the saddle better. If you sit on the back, it'll hurt your butt." Luffy said. Zolo did as he was told and felt his discomfort lessen considerably as his backside settled into the saddle's hold. It wasn't hard at all, in fact, it was rather soft considering the hard leather it was made of.

Luffy took up the reins again and Zolo clutched convulsively to Luffy's waist as the horse moved forward. They walked for a while and were soon wandering down an outback path. The palomino didn't even seem to mind that two people were sitting on it's back. Luffy turned his head slightly so Zolo could see the big smile.

"See? Fun isn't it?" he asked. Zolo chuckled to show he liked it. It was fun. Then the horse began to go a little faster, moving up into the trot.

"Relax, or you'll hurt his back!" Luffy called over the slight rushing of wind in their ears. Zolo tensed and then let his body relax and then it didn't feel so bad. The horse trotted along, the two on his back gently bobbing with the motion.

"Okay Zolo, hold on!" Luffy called and waited a moment while Zolo tightened his hold before squeezing his legs again. The horse went into a canter and Zolo found it hard to sit to it.

"Relax! You're pulling me back!" Luffy called over the now louder wind. Zolo whimpered and then did so, letting his back slump a little and leaning into Luffy's back. It didn't take long before Zolo was relaxed and even smiling. He was enjoying this! It was incredible, trees flashing past and Luffy giggling in front of him. Then the horse began to fidget a little.

"Whoa!" Luffy called, "You wanna go really fast Zolo?" Zolo thought a moment.

"Ok!" he called back. Luffy laughed.

"Then hang onto me for dear life, because I think this horse is ready to go!" and as soon as Zolo had leaned forward into Luffy's back as much as he could and his head was beside Luffy's right ear, the horse began to move… fast. Luffy leaned forward as the horse's head stretched out and it's ears flattened slightly. Zolo leant forward, unsure of what was going to happen. It was like an explosion and suddenly the horse didn't seem to be touching the ground.

Trees became blurs and the road underneath them was just a yellow line, no rocks or anything even visible as they flashed past. Luffy let out a whoop and Zolo's face split into a grin. It was amazing, almost like flying and then a log appeared in front of them and Zolo tensed.

"Hang on, this horse isn't gonna stop!" Luffy called, and he didn't seem worried in the slightest. There was no question this time, Zolo was scared. The log got closer and then they were in the air. Zolo looked down and saw the log pass beneath him. He barely felt the thump as the horse's feet hit the ground and they were moving at warp speed again. It wasn't long after that though when the horse began to slow.

Luffy pulled back on the reins gently and the horse slowed into a soft canter before coming down to a trot again and then into the walk. Luffy let the reins go limp and the horse began to walk, his head hanging and his sides heaving. Luffy chuckled.

"How fun was that?" Luffy asked. Zolo nodded.

"It was pretty awesome." he replied. Luffy chuckled.

"Nothing to be afraid of, was there?"

"Alright, stop rubbing it in my face." the swordsman responded. They walked back to the spot where they had found the horse and saw a woman standing there, looking rather distressed. They rode up and the woman's jaw dropped.

"Sorry miss, we just wanted to have a ride." Luffy said. The woman walked over and looked up at him.

"Oakie let you ride him?" she asked. Luffy nodded. "That's, that's unheard of. The only person he usually lets ride him is me. You must be a good person. You too." she said looking at Zolo. The Luffy grinned and slipped off the horse. He reached up to help Zolo and then the two were standing on the ground next to the woman who held her hand out.

"Hi, I'm Firey. Nice to meet you. It's okay. As far as I'm concerned, if Oakie let you ride him, then I don't really mind. Was he good?"

"Yeah, he was awesome!" Luffy replied. Firey smiled and gave her horse a pat.

"Yeah, he's my baby." and she snuggled into the horse's neck despite the fact that the horse was sweaty. Oakie gave a short whinny and snuggled back.

"Okay, well, thanks for the ride." Luffy said and gave the horse a pat. Zolo did so as well, nodded at the woman and grabbed his swords.

"Wait!" she called after them, "What's your name's?"

"I'm Monkey D Luffy! This is Roronoa Zolo!" Luffy cried as he climbed back over the fence. Firey smiled.

"Pirates huh? Good luck finding One Piece!" and with that she jumped onto the horse's back and rode away. Luffy grinned and looked at Zolo.

"See, not everyone hates pirates." he said. Zolo smiled.

"Yeah, I guess not." and they walked away, the neigh of Oakie making them turn and see Firey and the horse fly past at top speed.

**End**

**Sorry for adding myself in there but I couldn't resist. I love my horsie, even though he got sold. -pouts- I was so upset when he left but anyway. And my horse's name was actually Oakie and my nickname is Firey so, yeah. XP **


	27. Joking

**Dedicated to all of my reviewers, especially Treestar because she has reviewed nearly all of the stories. Thanks Treestar! Waves frantically, and then realises her family is giving her weird stares and goes back to staring at her computer screen. :)**

**Joking**

What happens when Luffy gets bored? Answer? Easy, he finds something to do.

Well, the sun was high and the birds were singing when Luffy decided, the answer to his boredom for the day, would be a practical joke on his crew. He already had it all planned out in his head. But now, he needed one last thing.

Zolo.

Partners in crime…when Zolo was awake anyway. He skipped across the ship, through the door and down to the boy's dorm where Zolo was asleep in his hammock. He poked Zolo in the shoulder and Zolo rolled over, grabbing Luffy's arm and pulling him into the hammock with him. Luffy squeaked and then looked into the eyes of his first mate.

"What do you want?" Zolo asked with a sleepy yawn that brought tears to the corners of his eyes. Luffy grinned.

"I have an idea. I need your help though." Luffy squealed, wriggling a little so he could pull his other arm out from underneath him.

"What are you planning?" the swordsman inquired, interested. Luffy giggled.

"A practical joke on the rest of the crew! Should be fun!"

"…for you maybe. What do you want me to do?"

"We need to switch clothes and act like each other all day. So, you have to act like me, and I have to act like you! What do you think?" Luffy crowed. Zolo thought a moment and then a slow smile spread across his lips.

"Okay. Let's do it." he responded. So, they switched clothes, Zolo's shirt was too big for Luffy, but Luffy's shirt was a little small on Zolo and the jeans were way too small.

"Ah, Luffy? I don't think this is gonna work." Zolo said, a sweat drop forming on his head as he looked down at himself. The jeans were so tight that you could see every feature of Zolo's legs, **every **feature. Luffy laughed.

"Yeah, your pants are too big and your shirt is more like a dress." Luffy chuckled. Zolo sighed.

"Well, have you got any other clothes apart from your vest and shorts?"

"…Yeah! I have a pair of black jeans!" Luffy cried. Zolo sighed as Luffy ran over to his cupboard, nearly tripping on the oversize pants. Zolo thought for a second and then remembered the horrid red shirt he had gotten from the last port.

He hadn't wanted it, but somehow he had ended up with it. If he cut the sleeves off, it would look almost exactly like Luffy's vest. He hurried over to his own cupboard and pulled it out. Luffy had meanwhile slipped into his black jeans and was wearing a smaller white shirt.

He did actually look a little like Zolo, except for his skinny arms and black hair, but, the two weren't gonna go that far.

Zolo cut the sleeves off of the red shirt and slipped it on. He then found a pair of blue jeans and pulled them on, rolling them up to just above his knees.

"There!" Luffy cried as he tied Zolo's green sash around his waist and the green material that was Zolo's bandana around his arm. Zolo chuckled and slipped his feet into Luffy's sandals.

"What about me?" Zolo asked. Luffy paused a moment, one hand on his hip and the other resting on his cheek. He scrutinized Zolo for a second and then pulled his hat off of his head. He walked over and placed it on Zolo's head.

"Take good care of it." he said seriously. Zolo smiled and nodded. Luffy grinned. "Good!" and he pulled on Zolo's boots. The two men's feet were about the same size, so shoes hadn't really been a problem. They looked at each other and grinned. Luffy let his eyes fall into lazy slits and Zolo opened his a little wider.

"Let's go!" Luffy cried and then crossed his arms. This would be good.

**Part 2**

The deck was quiet and Nami was relaxing in her favourite chair. For once, Luffy wasn't around to annoy her half to death and Zolo's snores weren't keeping her up. Honestly, that guy could sleep anywhere! Sanji was in the kitchen, busy preparing lunch and he had enlisted the help of Usopp, although who knew why? The marksman was more likely to just get in the way.

Chopper was sitting by the mast, his eyes concentrating on the mixture in front of him as he gently tipped the vial towards it. There was a crash and the door from the boy's dorm flew open causing Chopper to pour more of the chemical into the mixture. Chopper squeaked and then pulled his hat down as the mixture bubbled and then exploded, sending multicolour smoke and sparks in every direction.

"Cooooool!" a familiar voice cried. Nami looked around, pulling her shades up so they were sitting on top of her head. The voice was familiar, the joyous inflection of it, was not. Zolo stood there, his arms spread wide and his mouth a wide grin. He was wearing a red vest and blue jean shorts that were usually typical of their captain. Not to mention he was wearing Luffy's hat. Nami knew Luffy liked Zolo, but, if Zolo had gone ahead and taken Luffy's hat without asking, then, she seriously pitied the swordsman.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sanji asked as he walked out of the kitchen. Zolo looked around and grinned even wider.

"Sanji! When's lunch gonna be ready?" Zolo cried. "I want meat!" and with that he marched off to the front of the ship, jumped over the rail and sat on the figurehead.

"Well, … nothing weird about that." Usopp said sarcastically from behind Sanji. Nami raised an eyebrow. The captain was nowhere to be found which was vaguely odd, so, the navigator of the Merry Go decided it was time for her friend to make an appearance, not to mention she wanted to see Luffy's reaction when he saw Zolo wearing his hat. She stood up, straightened her shirt and pulling her shades over her eyes again, set off.

She looked all around the ship, in the tangerine bushes, on the back of the ship, hell, she even checked the sides to see if the boy was hanging off the side of the ship, but, no such luck. So, she went downstairs. She went to the storage room first and found nothing, then she went to the boy's dorm and peeked in. Lying on Zolo's hammock was a thin figure.

Nami walked over and noticed that Luffy was wearing a white shirt and dark pants. What the hell was going on with these two? Nami poked Luffy angrily and the young man twitched, groaning sleepily. He opened his eyes and glared at Nami, who took a step back.

"What do you want?" Luffy asked as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. They weren't wide and innocent, now they were lazy and filled with attitude. Usually a look Zolo had.

"What the hell are you and Zolo up to?" Nami demanded. Luffy sat up in the hammock and stretched.

"Nothing, why?" he replied. Nami frowned.

"You're dressed like him and he's dressed like you. Doesn't that strike you odd?"

"Not really, no." Luffy responded before grabbing Zolo's swords and tying them to his waist and then walking out of the dimly lit room. Nami raised an eyebrow, her mouth falling open in shock. Luffy had Zolo's swords?

She shook her head and followed him. Just as she reached the deck again, Sanji shouted that lunch was ready. A flash of red went past and Zolo was in his chair in two seconds flat, inhaling the food that had been placed in front of him. Luffy walked in as well, though less enthusiastically. He sat down in his seat and began eating, much like Zolo did. Fast, but not super speed.

_This is harder than I thought. _Luffy thought as he ate his food slower than usual. Although, he had to admit, it did taste a little better than usual. He looked over at Zolo who was creeping his hand towards Luffy's plate. Luffy grinned inwardly and slammed the flat of his hand down on Zolo's.

The older man pulled it back, pouting, a look Luffy almost dropped his façade to giggle at. It was weird seeing Zolo act like himself. Hang on, did he really act like that? Ha ha, no wonder everyone laughed at him.

Zolo looked across at his captain, and pouted, a look he really wasn't used to doing that often. Luffy seemed on the verge of giggling and Zolo kicked his captain in the shin under the table. Luffy glared at him and then announced that he was going outside for a nap.

Zolo smiled inwardly. Luffy wasn't doing too bad with acting like the swordsman. Although, Zolo had to admit he felt a twinge when he saw the swords tied around the younger man's waist. Luffy seemed to be looking after them pretty well though, so he let it go. He bounded out of the room, admittedly a little tiredly as he wasn't used to not having naps whenever he felt like it, and ran out to the mast. The rest of the crew was in shock.

Sanji's eyes were wide and Usopp had a fork halfway to his mouth, food long forgotten as he gaped after the two weirdly acting men. Nami paused and turned to them.

"What's wrong with them?" Chopper squeaked from beside the marksman. Nami shrugged.

"I don't know. Luffy was fine this morning." she replied.

"That's wrong." Sanji muttered taking the two plates and placing them in the sink.

"It's a sign!" Usopp suddenly cried shocking the other three. "The end of the world is nigh!"

"The end of the world? AHHHH!" Chopper screeched.

"You always think it's the end of the world." Nami snapped at the liar.

"No, seriously, on my travels I met a strange old witch who said I would meet a rubber man who would save my village and then I would join his crew and go on many adventures. She said that a swordsman would be there as well, and a woman with red hair and big eyes…"

Usopp paused for a moment as Nami's _big _eyes became slits of anger. "Uh, I mean, she said beautiful eyes. Anyway, she said that when the swordsman and the rubber man switch clothes and act like each other, then the end of the world is nigh and we should all grab gigantic teddies and jump into the ocean!" Usopp finished. Sanji whacked him across the back of the head.

"You idiot!" Sanji yelled before going back to the sink. Nami frowned in thought.

"Well, perhaps something happened? I have heard that if you get hit over the head hard enough, you'll start acting like someone else." Nami suggested. Chopper nodded, having stopped his screaming.

"That's true. Maybe we should try hitting them in the head again then. That usually works." Chopper said. Usopp slammed a fist into his palm.

"Perfect, I have the greatest plan!" he said with a sly smile. Nami shrugged. Usopp had some good plans.

Zolo bounded over to Luffy and kneeled down beside him. He prodded the younger man, who opened an eye sleepily.

"It's working." Luffy said. Zolo grinned and nodded.

"Yup. So, when do you plan on stopping this? I'm getting kinda tired." Zolo muttered. Luffy shrugged.

"Whenever they figure it out." Luffy replied. Zolo snorted.

"We'll be like this for a while then." he said. They chuckled and then Zolo ran past Luffy to jump onto the figure head and Luffy went back to sleep.

That night, Luffy and Zolo were walking together across the deck towards the kitchen for dinner. Their joke had lasted all day and now they were hungry. Zolo was first, and he opened the door. A large bucket of water came down on his head and he cursed. Luffy snorted and began laughing, a large grin on his face until he remembered that his hat was in fact on Zolo's head and he leaped forward and pulled the bucket off his friend's head.

His hat was drenched and his eyes darkened. There was a chuckle from inside the kitchen and the two men peered in to see Nami, Usopp and Sanji sitting around the table, laughing their rhetorical butts off. Luffy gazed at his hat, trying to flatten the edges again which had been turned down when the bucket had come down on Zolo's head.

"You guys bent my hat!" Luffy yelled, irritated. Zolo frowned.

"And I got wet! What's the deal?" he asked.

"You guys were acting like each other, so we decided to shock you back to yourselves." Usopp choked.

"We were only kidding around!" Luffy cried still trying to straighten the edges of his hat. "We thought it might be fun to act like each other for a while."

"Well, it annoyed us, so we just got back at you." Sanji said as he got up to place the food on the table. Zolo sat down, still ticked off. Luffy didn't move, still staring at his hat disconsolately. Nami sighed and walked over.

"Here." she said and gently wrapped a piece of string around it so it pulled the edged up and flattened them. "Leave it like that for a while and it should go back to it's original shape." Luffy sighed.

"Thanks Nami." he said before sitting down and diving into his food. So ended their little joke, but it had been fun while it lasted. Maybe next time, they could dress up as someone else, but hell be damned if he'd dress up as Nami.

**End**

**Hmm, that was rather silly and pointless wasn't it?**


	28. Rose

**Rose**

It was quiet on the dirt track that led back to the ship. Luffy was walking beside him, hands folded on the back of his head. Zolo had his own stuffed deep into his pockets. There was a perfume like smell on the wind and Zolo paused to turn and see a rose bush by the road. There was a little hut behind it and a little old lady was busy pruning other rose bushes that lined the fence of her small property. Luffy stopped and turned back to see Zolo gazing at the red flowers.

"Zolo?" he asked. Zolo shook his head and looked up.

"Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, just… thinking."

"'bout what?"

"Home." and then there was silence except for the snipping of the pruning shears in the hand of the little lady.

The night watch was silent and as Zolo gazed up at the sky, he thought about the gardens where he used to live. He sighed and stood up to stretch.

"Zolo?" a voice asked. He turned to see Luffy standing behind him, his hands behind his back.

"What's up Luf?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to give you this. Thought they might cheer you up a little." and Luffy pulled out a potted rose and held it towards the swordsman. "I thought that if you couldn't be _at_ home, then maybe I could make the ship a little more homey to you." Zolo took the plant and smiled.

"Thanks Luffy." and he walked towards the tangerine trees. Carefully making a spot for the plant, he pulled it from it's pot and placed it in the newly dug hole. When he had covered it in again he sat back on his heels and smiled.

"How does it look?" Zolo asked. Luffy grinned.

"Pretty!" he cried. Zolo chuckled.

(there's like, a time lapse thingy here)

"Zolo!" Luffy yelled as he ran down past the astonished Usopp and nearly knocked over poor Chopper. Robin looked up from her book, smiled and then went back to the words in front of her again. Sanji looked out from his kitchen and frowned.

"Zolo!" and he jumped onto the swordsman's lap. Zolo jumped and looked around wildly.

"What is it?" he asked. Luffy grinned.

"The rose." he said simply. Zolo grinned in return and then getting up, the two hurried up to where the trees were flourishing and bent down to see the plant had a large red flower upon it. Luffy grinned and Zolo smiled.

"It's beautiful." he said and then gave his captain a swift kiss and sat back to admire the blood red flower.

**End**

**-Shrugs- Don't know where that came from. **


	29. Smarter than he appears

**Smarter than he appears**

As far as the rest of the crew was concerned, Luffy was as dumb as a post. They knew he was a great tactician when it came to fighting, and they knew he was hella strong, but when it came to using his rubber brain, then, well they didn't have a lot of faith in their captain. Zolo didn't believe this so much. Sure, he knew Luffy wasn't exactly the smartest person, but he did have his moments and today was one of them.

Zolo had fallen for his captain, and he had been dropping hints as often as possible but Luffy just didn't seem to be picking up on them. I mean, come on, he had been as obvious as he could without the rest of the crew noticing. Well, he gave up for the day after Luffy had openly ignored his attempts at telling the boy he liked him and went out and leaned against the mast for a nice nap. He was just drifting off when Luffy bounded out of the kitchen and ran over to him. He leaned into the swordsman's face and grinned, making Zolo's face flush slightly.

"I like you too Zolo." and he bounced off to the figurehead. Zolo paused a moment and then smiled. As he thought, Luffy was smarter than he appeared.

**End**

**Heh, Luffy picked up on the hints, he was just playing hard to get. Tee hee, go Luffy. XP**


	30. Smile

**Smile**

Zolo never smiled. Plain and simple fact. He wouldn't laugh, he wouldn't grin, he would frown, he would scowl, but he never smiled. Not a genuine, happy, good to be on earth, smile.

Luffy never stopped. All he did was smile. Walking into a damn door could make that kid smile. And it was this that triggered Luffy's thoughts, walking into the door I mean.

He turned and looked over at the swordsman who was sleeping against the mast. His face was relaxed, and eyes were closed but, there was no smile gracing the man's lips. Luffy pondered this and then thought, that would be his quest for the day. To make Zolo smile.

_Attempt 1 _

Zolo sat at the table in the kitchen, hands wrapped around the mug of coffee he had just made himself. Luffy wandered in and sat down across from him and then folded his arms on the table and bent his head to rest his chin on them. He watched the swordsman for a while until Zolo looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked. Luffy shrugged.

"Wanna hear a joke?"

"Not particularly."

"Awwww."

"Fine, go ahead."

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Pirate…"

"Pirate who?"

"Pirate you!" and then Luffy giggled. Zolo shook his head.

"That was lame Luffy." and then he walked out. Luffy pouted. Strike one.

_Attempt 2_

Zolo was swinging his weight around and paused when he saw Luffy balancing on the railing. He put the weights down and got ready to jump and grab the captain in case he fell. He didn't luckily but he did jump onto the deck, pull out three balls and start juggling. It was horribly wrong though because as Luffy tried to keep the balls in the air, he stretched his arms and ended up in a tangled knot.

"Are… are you okay Luffy?" Zolo asked, a little freaked out. Luffy sighed and nodded before walking away. Zolo shook his head and started swinging his weight around again.

_Attempt 3_

Luffy sighed as he tried to think of something to make the swordsman smile. He wanted him to smile and it was proving to be a very difficult task. He chewed on his bottom lip as Zolo started a fight with Sanji again. That could work! He bounded off to get the things he needed.

Sanji was cutting up the vegetables in the kitchen. The fight with the shitty swordsman had relieved some of the grumpiness he had been feeling earlier that day. Totally unaware of what was about to happen, Sanji walked out onto the deck. There was a slight clunk and then he felt a bucket drop onto his head. Cold, slimy liquid coated his head and he stood there, aghast, as bright pink paint dripped down his body.

Luffy looked over at Zolo, but the swordsman had turned away and by the time he turned back, Sanji was gone. Luffy frowned. That had been the ultimate plan! He sighed. It looked like the swordsman was never going to smile. He walked over and slumped against the rail, his hat over his eyes as he sighed despairingly. Black booted feet came over and then a hand pushed Luffy's hat back.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zolo asked. Luffy took one look at Zolo's concerned face and his lip quivered.

"I wanted to make you smile." he muttered. Zolo's brows creased.

"What?"

"I wanted to make you happy and smile, but every time I tried, I messed it up." Luffy replied and brought a hand up to tug his hat down over his face again, only to find Zolo's hand was holding it in place.

"Luffy…" Zolo said. Luffy looked up. "I am happy."

"But-"

"I'm happy because… well, I'm with you." Zolo explained cutting the boy off. Luffy tilted his head in confusion. Zolo smiled and Luffy grinned.

"You smiled!" he cried. Zolo chuckled and shook his head.

"How can I not? You're so damn cute." and he leant in and placed a soft kiss on Luffy's lips. When he had pulled away again Luffy was grinning.

"Smile more often, you look cute too." he said cheekily. Zolo snorted.

"I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Will you two shut up and come and have lunch!" Sanji yelled. Zolo and Luffy looked around before cracking up. Sanji had bright pink hair. The chef growled before walking back into the kitchen, muttering curses and leaving the two to laugh until their stomachs hurt.

So, when your feeling down and can't smile, be with someone you love and maybe it will surprise you how often you _do _smile during the time you spend with them.

**End**

**Being with people makes me smile, and so do reviews! -hint hint, nudge nudge- Oh forget it.**


	31. stretching

**Stretching**

Zolo was woken from a fitful dream of finding One Piece and then celebrating with Luffy in a way that he couldn't celebrate with anyone else. Fortunately, the person who woke him was Luffy himself. The boy was bored once again. The ship was quiet as everyone else had gone into the town and left the two alone.

"Come on Zolo, let's do something fun." Luffy called. Zolo smiled cheekily and quickly kissed his captain.

"Apart from that." Luffy said. Zolo frowned.

"Well I can't think of anything else fun to do, apart from sleeping." he replied. Luffy thought a moment and then grinned.

"I know. Let's have a stretching contest!" he cried. Zolo sighed.

"You'll win that hands down you know." he responded, a little annoyed. Luffy continued to grin.

"You never know unless you try." he said. Zolo groaned and sat up.

"Will you let me sleep after this?"

"Okay!" Luffy cried and then bounced to his feet. Zolo stood and watched as Luffy stretched in every way possible. It was then that Zolo found a loophole in Luffy's game. He had never said it was _him _who had to stretch. He had just said it was a stretching contest.

So, when Luffy was finished and looked expectantly at the first mate, Zolo strolled over to his boyfriend, grabbed the side of Luffy's mouth and pulled. He walked back across the ship, the side of Luffy's mouth stretching all the way until he was standing beside the kitchen door and then he let it do, smile firmly placed on his face. Luffy turned and pouted.

"You cheated!" he cried. Zolo shrugged.

"Now I get to sleep." and he sat down and did just that, leaving a dejected Luffy to sit on the figure head and pout.

**End**

**Heh, Zolo ain't stupid. **


	32. The Universe

**Here you go Shiruji! Because it made you all warm and fluffy inside I dedicate this fic to you!**

**The universe**

Night watch was never much of an event to Zolo, but when Luffy looked up at the stars, you could always expect the captain to say something. He was so intrigued by the skies and seemed to want to know as much as he could. It was Zolo's turn at night watch when soft steps announced the presence of the little captain. He turned and looked up to see Luffy's smiling face.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing up so late?" Zolo asked. Luffy shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep. I like sitting on the deck at night and looking at the stars." he replied before slumping down next to the swordsman and putting his hands behind his head and laying back down against the deck of _Merry_. Zolo peered at the smaller boy for a moment before looking back out to sea again.

"Zolo?" Luffy asked. The swordsman grunted to show he was listening. "Tell me about the stars. Please?"

"About the stars? Why?"

"Please?" Zolo sighed and lay back beside his captain.

"Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Everything you know." and then there was the sound of jeans rustling before Zolo felt Luffy lean against him and rest his head on the swordsman's chest. Zolo sighed and gazed up at the stars.

"Well, the stars are a part of the universe and I guess it's a really big area of planets and moons and stars and asteroids and-"

"Aliens?"

"What? Who told you that?"

"Usopp."

"Typical. Anyway, the Sun is the centre of the universe and everything revolves around it."

"I thought the Earth was the centre of the universe."

"No. The Sun is."

"Why?"

"I guess because it's the biggest thing in the universe."

"Oh. Go on."

"So, yeah, the Sun's the biggest thing in the universe and it's a star."

"The Sun's a star?"

"Yup. Cool huh? And it's made of pure fire and it never stops burning and it's so hot that the heat reaches us here on Earth."

"Wow."

"Pretty amazing. Closest to the Sun is the planet Mercury. It's a small planet and is really hot but not as hot as the Sun because it is a solid object."

"Isn't the Sun a solid object?"

"Well, sort of. It's made of gas and that's how it burns. All the stars are made of gas and they all burn. That's how we see them."

"How come we don't see them through the day?"

"Because when it's day, the Sun is the brightest object in the sky and it's brightness cancels out the light from the stars because they are weaker. The stars a millions of miles away and they are like little mini Suns that just burn until they run out of gas and die."

"Stars die?"

"Yup. Just like a fire dies if you don't put wood on it."

"So you have to put wood on the stars if you want them to keep burning?"

"Of course not, they burn with gas and when the gas that's inside them runs out, they can't burn anymore so they just go out."

"Ooooh. Poor stars."

"Uh huh. Now, after Mercury there's another planet called Venus."

"What colour is it?"

"How the hell would I know? It's just a planet. Anyway, after Venus there's Earth, that's us. After us there's this massive planet called Jupiter. It's huge."

"How come you know how big the planet's are but not what colour they are?"

"Look, do you want to know about the Universe or not?"

"Yeah."

"Then hush. Yeah, so there's Jupiter and then comes Saturn and it has rings around it."

"Like giant hula hoops?"

"I guess so."

"Cool. I wanna go to Saturn."

"Why?"

"So then I can do the hula with the hoops! He he he."

"Right. After Saturn there is Uranus. (a/n Ha ha to everyone who said 'I can see Uranus' cos it ain't funny you humour deficient losers) And then comes Neptune."

"Isn't Neptune the God of the Sea?"

"Supposedly, and I guess they decided to name the planet after him. And last of all comes this tiny planet called Pluto. It is so far away from the Sun that it's practically made of ice."

"Wow. So, it would kinda be like where we found Chopper?"

"Probably, but there would be no Sun at all."

"Are there any more planets?"

"Probably, but the ones I've told you are the only ones that have been discovered so far. But there are moons. Nearly every planet has a moon. Jupiter has heaps."

"How many?"

"Umm, 16 last I heard."

"Wow. Jupiter must be popular."

"Heh, yeah." and then there was silence.

"What else do you know?"

"Nothing else really. I know about constellations and things."

"What are constellations?"

"Patterns, that the stars make. Like big pictures in the sky."

"Cool. Can you show me one?"

"Hmmm, there's Orion. Look, see where those three stars go across and then there's like a man and he's holding a bow. You see?"

"No."

"Here." and Zolo gently turned Luffy's head in the constellation's direction.

"Oh! I see it! Cool, he's like a hunter or something?"

"Yeah. I don't know the story though." and then there was silence again.

"Zolo?" Luffy's quiet voice asked. Zolo grunted again to show he was listening. "How come you're not the sun?"

"What?"

"How come you're not the Sun?"

"Because I'm not a gigantic ball of gas maybe." he replied and Luffy snickered.

"No. I mean, you're the biggest thing in my universe."

"I disagree." Zolo said and Luffy sat up, a look of confusion across his face. "I think the biggest thing in _my _universe… is you." and Luffy grinned brightly before Zolo sat up and kissed Luffy gently, under the stars, past the milky way and on through the universe.

**End**

**I absolutely adore the universe and how it works. It's so beautiful and so big and I just wish I could go out in a ship and travel it forever. I love stargazing and I have a telescope, but the damn thing broke. :( Couldn't see my beautiful stars any more. And, my favourite planet has to be Jupiter, cos' it's so big and has those storms and it's just so pretty! What's your favourite planet? **


	33. Plushies

**Plushies**

Luffy hugged the toy he had gotten from the carnival. A large fluffy teddy bear that had green fur and dark brown plastic eyes. It was bigger than Chopper almost, and made the little reindeer slightly nervous. If Luffy hugged him like he was hugging the bear, then he hated to think what would happen. Luffy rubbed his face along the bear's and smiled.

"What are you doing Luffy?" Chopper asked. Luffy chuckled.

"His fur's so soft." Luffy cooed. Chopper smiled.

"Him?"

"Yeah. His name's Noazo." Luffy crowed as he rubbed his face along the bear's again. Chopper screwed his face up in thought.

"Noazo?" he asked. Luffy nodded and then stood up, the boards under his feet creaking slightly as he walked over to the door out of the men's cabin. Chopper toddled after him, little hoofed feet making clicking sounds on the wood. Luffy walked up onto deck where the day was fine and clear.

"Why do you call your teddy Noazo?" Chopper asked. Luffy paused and then turned to the doctor with a huge smile.

"Because. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to call him Roronoa or Zolo, cause they're both cool names and because his fur is the same colour as Zolo's hair. Chopper blinked and then looked towards where the swordsman was sleeping against the mast. He then looked back, and noticed that yes, the fur was the same colour as Zolo's hair. Luffy giggled and then skipped over to his first mate and plonked beside him.

"And," Luffy said as Chopper walked up and Luffy rubbed his cheek across the swordsman's head, "Zolo's hair is soft like Noazo's fur." Chopper watched Luffy for a minute as the boy alternated between rubbing his cheek on the teddy and then rubbing it on Zolo's head and then shrugged, walking off to talk to Usopp who at least was moderately sane.

**End**


	34. banana bandana

**Banana bandana**

Zolo, as you probably already guessed, lay asleep by the mast, his hair swaying in the breeze. He cracked an eye open as a loud bang caught his attention but it was only Luffy getting kicked out of the kitchen…again. He yawned and closed his eyes again.

"Go away Luffy." he said as he heard pattering footsteps approaching. There was a resulting whine and then the footsteps receded.

Having been rejected by both the cook and his first mate, Luffy went to Nami who happened to be in an unusually good mood this morning. Luffy grinned at her as he jumped onto the rail beside her.

"Hey Luffy." she said with a smile. Luffy gave her a small wave by way of greeting. "What can I do you for?"

"Huh?"

"Can I help you?" she repeated when Luffy didn't understand.

"Oh, well, I'm kind of bored and I really have nothing to do and I thought, maybe we could play or something." he said. Nami sighed and then a smile spread across her face.

"Did Zolo reject you?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Wanna get revenge?"

"Yeah!" Luffy cried slapping his feet together. Nami chuckled and put her quill down.

"I have an idea, but you have to get his bandana." she said as she got up from her chair. Luffy nodded and jumped off the railing, running towards the swordsman and stopping a few feet away to creep. He tiptoed over and heard the soft snore, the telltale sign that Zolo was truly asleep, that and the drool hanging from the side of his mouth.

Luffy could barely restrain himself from cracking into outrageous laughter as he slowly untied the bandana from Zolo's arm and slipped it off. The swordsman gave a snort and Luffy bolted, running straight for Nami's chair again. He stopped in front of the orange haired woman and held the bandana towards her. She took it and inspected it.

"Hey. It actually smells clean. I thought it would reek of his sweat and stuff." she muttered. Luffy shrugged.

"He's obsessive about that and his swords." the captain explained. Nami nodded and then walked towards the kitchen.

"What are we going to do?" Luffy asked. Nami smiled mischievously.

"We're going to make his bandana, a banana bandana." she replied. Luffy tilted his head.

"How?"

"You'll see." she teased before walking into the kitchen.

"Luffy! How many times do I have to- Nami!" Sanji cut himself off as the orange haired woman walked in. Luffy peeked out from behind her but Sanji didn't seem to notice.

"Sanji. Could I possibly have one teensy weensy little banana?" Nami asked putting on a pout. Sanji never moved faster as he grabbed a banana and peeled it and handed it to the woman. Luffy shook his head and Nami smiled.

"Thankyou Sanji." she replied sweetly before walking out leaving the cook practically dancing in the air. Luffy watched interestedly as Nami got to work.

Zolo yawned as he stretched and then felt something slimy against his skin. He wrinkled his nose as the smell of banana's reached him. He then identified the two as he looked at the green bandana wrapped around his arm. He undid it and pulled it off, the now slimy and pretty rotten looking banana sliding to the floor. His mouth twisted.

"Oh Luffy…" he said before getting up and looking for the captain so he could shove the banana bandana in the boy's face.

**End**

**I had this trick played on me this weekend. My family thought it was hilarious. And yes, I wear a bandana around my arm, only it's blue. XD I'm an idiot. **


	35. sleepwalking

**Thanks to Avast for sending me this awesome pic. It's so cute! XD **

**Sleepwalking**

It had been three nights since Luffy had started this strange behaviour. Zolo was starting to get a little annoyed by Luffy thumping into the door at least three times before realising he had to open it to walk out. Yes, Luffy had started the ever threatening, sleepwalking. Which in other words meant that at least one of the crew had to stay up _all _night to make sure the little captain didn't fall overboard.

Tonight, was Zolo's night and the swordsman was a little miffed as he hadn't had any sleep all day. He heard the telltale thump of the captain walking into the door…three times. Still as dumb as a post, even when he was asleep. Typical. Zolo got up with a sigh, slipped his boots on and followed the captain up to the deck. When he reached it and looked around, Luffy wasn't there. Uh oh. Alarm bells started ringing through the poor swordsman's head.

"Luffy?" he muttered and then felt the strangest sensation he had ever felt. It was like hair gel but, warm. He reached a hand up and felt… a face? What the hell? He reached up a little further and felt soft black hair under a scratchy straw hat.

"Mmm, salad." a voice mumbled. Zolo's face went from pink, to blue in a matter of seconds. Luffy, was sucking on his head…

"Get the fuck off me!" Zolo yelled and grabbing Luffy he began to pull, but the captain had a solid grip on his head and wasn't ready to let go anytime soon. He pulled, twisted, turned, flipped and even tried to pry Luffy off with his sheathed sword but that didn't work either. Zolo finally gave up and dropped to the deck.

"Well, at least he doesn't think I'm meat." he muttered. There was pop and Luffy let go as he woke up.

"MEAT?" he yelled. "Where's the meat?" and he ran towards the kitchen, leaving a sickened Zolo slamming his head repeatedly against the ground.

Next day, Zolo swaggered into the kitchen for lunch, the midnight caper forgotten.

"SAAANJIIII! I WANT MEAT!" Luffy yelled and Zolo sniggered as he sat down in the seat.

"What about some salad?" Sanji asked annoyed. Luffy chuckled.

"No, I had salad last night." he replied. Zolo, who had about to sit down and begin eating, turned right around and walked back out to wash his hair… again.

**end**


	36. Swearing

**Well, another one shot is completed. Hooray for me! This one is very very light ZoLu. Very light. In fact, it could just be considered what Luffy would do normally. **

_**Swearing**_

"You are a bad influence on Luffy!" Sanji yelled in Zoro's face. The green haired swordsman rose an eyebrow.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he replied. Sanji pointed over to Luffy, who was currently asleep against the mast, hat tilted over his eyes.

"He always does that." Zoro said as he took another drink of his rum.

"Yeah? Well you know what he came and asked me the other day?"

"Nope. Not sure I care either."

"He asked if he could have a bottle of rum." Sanji said and Zoro laughed.

"Who cares? He's just being Luffy. You know what he's like." the swordsman responded.

"He asked Nami if she would pierce his ear." and this managed to at least make Zoro a little uncomfortable.

"So?" he asked, trying and failing to sound offhand.

"He swore. Luffy never swears."

"So what? He's the captain. He's entitled to do whatever he wants." Zoro said in his defence.

"He's 17, he shouldn't be swearing. You're the cause of that." Sanji hissed, getting thoroughly annoyed. Zoro sighed.

"Get over it." he responded.

"I bet you can't go one day without swearing!" Sanji said. Zoro paused.

"I can so."

"Prove it."

"Fine. I will. Ass-"

"Uh uh uh."

"Bas-"

"Nope."

"Go to hell!" Zoro yelled and walked away. Sanji let himself have a self satisfied smile. The Marimo was going to go insane today, and Sanji would be there the whole time, laughing at him.

----

Zoro thumped down beside Luffy, causing the younger boy to wake up and look around wildly before his eyes came to rest on Zoro.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy cried.

"Hey. Listen, Luffy, what have you been saying lately?" the swordsman asked, going straight to the point of the matter.

"Uh… well, I told Usopp that his drawing looked like a duck and it was meant to be a bird, but a duck's a bird, so I was right, but, Usopp wouldn't admit that so I told him to get fucked." Luffy replied, "Is that bad?"

"Yes. Very bad. Luffy, you can't swear."

"Why not?"

"Because, then I get in trouble for swearing as well."

"Why?"

"Because Sanji and Nami don't like you swearing."

"Why?"

"Would you stop saying why?"

"…well, what should I say?"

"…I don't know. But you can't swear, and if I hear you swearing, no dinner." the swordsman threatened. Luffy's jaw dropped and then he nodded solemnly.

"Alright. I won't swear for the rest of the day." the boy replied. Zoro gave a nod.

"Good." and he brushed a hand affectionately through Luffy's hair.

"But, Zoro, you and Sanji swear all the time, why can't I?"

"Because, swearing is bad. Sanji and myself shouldn't swear either. It's not very nice." Zoro replied.

"Oh… so, if I stop swearing, does that mean you guys have to stop as well?" Luffy asked. Zoro blinked and then nodded.

"Sure. We'll stop as well." the swordsman replied. This day was going to be a lot harder than he thought. Luffy jumped up and then bounded off to find Usopp. Zoro watched him and then skulked back to the kitchen.

"Sanji." he said as he walked in. The chef turned to look at him.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"We have to stop swearing. Luffy also said that you swear, so, if you and I stop swearing, he will."

"Oh man. That's fu-"

"Nope. Can't say that."

"Sh-"

"No."

"Oh, you're just loving this, aren't you?"

"Just a little bit, yeah." Zoro replied with a laugh before walking out again. Sanji frowned and was tempted to make a rude gesture, but, Luffy was hanging around and the chef _was _partially responsible for influencing Luffy in swearing.

----

Lunchtime was the same as usual, and Luffy was guzzling his food like an elephant eating peanuts. Sanji and Zoro were sitting at opposite ends of the table, both as silent as the grave.

"Anyone hear about the island that had grass made of gold?" Usopp suddenly asked. No one answered, except a certain excitable reindeer.

"No! Tell me the story Usopp!" he cried. Usopp smiled proudly and moseyed on out of the room, Chopper on his heels as he told the story of the 'Island with the golden grass'. What an original name.

"Zoroooo!" Luffy cried. The swordsman looked up, a little annoyed.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm still hungry."

"Well, what the he- heck do you want me to do about it?" he asked, changing in mid-sentence from hell, to a less nasty word. Sanji raised an eyebrow at the swordsman.

"What are you looking at?" Zoro growled. Sanji shrugged.

"An ugly fu- person." he replied, eyes flicking subtly at Luffy. The boy was eyeing Zoro's plate though, and therefore did not notice the chef's nearly spoken word.

"Get fuc- lost."

"Loser."

"Stupid blonde."

"Weirdo." and then the two stopped, their usual aggression falling short of it's expected level.

"Just not the same, is it?" Sanji asked, crossing his arms and leaning back. Zoro shoved his plate at Luffy, who gave a cry of joy and dug in.

"Nope." the swordsman replied, also leaning back in his chair. They sat in silence as Luffy guzzled his food, and then leaned back as well, slapping his stomach.

"Thanks." and then he walked out of the kitchen, humming a tuneless song. Zoro glared at Sanji, and then also moved out. The chef was left alone.

"Fucked up bastard." he muttered.

----

Zoro looked around as he got out of the kitchen and then heard voices talking above him. He turned and looked up at the orange trees.

"So, did it work?" Usopp's voice asked. There was a giggle.

"Yep. They fell for it all right." Luffy's voice returned.

"Okay. Good on you Luffy." Usopp's voice returned, "Zoro and Sanji won't be able to swear at all soon." Zoro's eyes narrowed and he stomped back to the kitchen. He burst in and Sanji spun around from his sink.

"What the heck are you doing?" Sanji growled, avoiding his usual 'fuck' or 'hell'.

"We've been tricked." the swordsman said and then closed the door behind him, "That bastard Usopp and Luffy both joined up and planned to make us not swear."

"Why?"

"How the fuck do I know? Hey, feels good to swear again. Anyway, we have to get them back." and Sanji nodded.

"What do we do?"

"Hmmm. Well, we could play along with them for a while. Hey, hey hey hey. I have a perfect idea."

"Well hurry the fuck up and spit it out. I don't have all day."

----

Luffy waltzed into the kitchen.

"Sanjiiiii! Food!" he cried, hurrying over to the chef. Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"You little bugger. Get back outside, go on. Wait like everyone else." the chef replied. Luffy tilted his head.

"You aren't gonna yell swearing at me?"

"Nope. Now, get the frick out of here!" and then Luffy was kicked from the room. Usopp, who had been sitting at the table in the kitchen, sighed.

"Silly Luffy. So, you're going to keep that swearing promise?" he asked. Sanji shrugged.

"I guess. Ever since I heard Luffy swear about someone." and he began wiping some dishes. Usopp's interest was peaked.

"Oh… who was he talking about?"

"Well, I don't want to sound mean, but, he was talking about you."

"…what did he say?"

"He called you a loser, and a fucking retard. I don't want to swear after hearing that." and Sanji went back to his dishes. There was the scraping of a chair, and then the kitchen door banged open. Sanji smiled. Plan into action, now, he cold only hope the marimo had done his part.

----

Luffy was sitting upon the figurehead, his head tilted slightly as he stared out to sea.

"Hey Luffy, can you come down here?" Zoro's voice asked. Luffy spun around and then jumped down, putting his hands on his hips as he reached his friend.

"What's up?"

"Well, I heard Usopp saying that he should be the captain… again."

"Did he?" and Luffy walked away. Zoro raised an eyebrow and smiled. At exactly the same moment as Luffy walked away, Usopp walked out of the kitchen. The two spotted each other and met in the middle of the ship, beside the mast.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" they said at the same time.

"I'm the captain of this ship." Luffy replied.

"And I am the gunner." Usopp replied.

"Exactly. You can't go around lying all the time Usopp."

"Neither can you, _captain._"

"Me? What did I lie about?"

"You called me a fucking retard."

"And you said you were captain…" and the two paused. Sanji waltzed out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you believed us?" Zoro asked as he walked up behind them. Sanji snorted and looked at Zoro.

"Shit eh?" and he walked back into the kitchen. Luffy frowned and turned on his first mate. Usopp sighed.

"I guess they figured us out." he muttered. Luffy sighed as well.

"Yeah, it was fun while it lasted." the boy replied and then his eyes travelled to where Zoro was now sitting against the mast, his arms locked behind his head.

"Now what do we do?" Usopp asked, scratching his chest. Luffy blinked and then a sly smile spread across his face.

"I'm gonna annoy Zoro, you go annoy Sanji, it's payback time." and then Luffy ran full tilt at Zoro and smashed into the swordsman's chest.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Zoro yelled. Usopp paled and then ran away.

"I'll leave the annoying to Luffy." and he was gone.

**End**

**----**

**So there you have it. Luffy and Usopp working together on a scheme to stop Zoro and Sanji from swearing. Why the hell did they have to do that? I don't know, so don't bother asking. I think they were just really really bored. Either that or Nami put them up to it. -shrugs- anyway. What did you all think? **

**By the way, the word 'frick' is what I use instead of fuck. Although, my teachers insist it's just as bad. -shrugs again- silly teachers. And, 'Shit eh?' is one of my favourite responses to something someone says is fantastic, but actually isn't. I'm so mean. **


	37. My One Piece

_**My One Piece**_

_He used to be so nice. To me at least. _

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy cried. The swordsman looked around a smiled.

"Luffy!" and he waved an arm.

_He used to be so kind, and he used to tolerate me when no one else would. _

"So Zoro, what are you going to do today?" Luffy asked, leaning on a table.

"Sleep… train… eat… sleep." and Zoro walked out. Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds… interesting." and Luffy skipped off.

_He was my best friend and my first mate. _

"Zoro, I'm gonna need you you know. I can't have you going off without me… I'll get lost." Luffy muttered as he leaned against the older man. Zoro looked back at him.

"I'm not going anywhere, at least, not unless I suddenly see Mihawk floating past." and he chuckled. Luffy blinked and then smiled.

"Right! You're my bestest friend ever Zoro!" Luffy cried. Zoro paused and then smiled.

"Yeah, you're mine too Luffy."

_He was one of my Nakama… and I trusted him with my life. He trusted me with his. _

"Luffyyy! Grab my hand!" Zoro's voice echoed above the boy as he hung from the side of the ship. His hand was slipping on the porthole and his eyes were wide as the water beneath him churned, trying to pull him down. "Luffy! Come on!" and the rubber man set his teeth and threw his hand straight up, his arm stinging where the blade from the naval officer had sliced it.

_He saved my life…_

Zoro pulled Luffy up onto the ship and held the boy for a moment as the captain regained his composure.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Zoro."

_I should have saved his… _

"Zoro! What are you doing?" Luffy called, his hair whipping in the wind from under his hat.

"I have to get that guy Luffy! He stole Wadau!"

"But… you're bleeding!" Luffy pleaded and then almost had to take a step back as Zoro gave him the most piercing stare ever.

"I don't care." and he ran off into the darkness.

_I never meant to lose him… he was my treasure, my One Piece… and I didn't even know what I had... until he was gone. _

**End**


	38. No different

_**No Different**_

It wasn't unusual. Not for people as close as a first mate and a Captain could be. Or at least, the rest of the crew didn't think it was unusual, when they saw Luffy challenging Zoro to a match that the swordsman would most likely lose.

Of course, Zoro would never back down from a challenge, lest of all one that Luffy boasted he could beat the swordsman with one arm tied behind his back… literally. And when Luffy did win, Zoro would challenge Luffy right back, and then it started all over again.

It was no different at night, when the rest of the boys were asleep, and Luffy would pad silently over to Zoro's bed, whisper in the swordsman's ear and then climb into the hammock with him. The whispered challenges, and the gasped names, was something the other men of the ship had had to learn to ignore.

And when the morning came, and Sanji snuck his way into the kitchen, the chef silently thought that no, there wasn't a better pair on this ship except perhaps… Nami and himself.

_Shit… burnt the frigging bacon again._

**End**


	39. Rain

**Disclaimer: Plushie no no owns One Piece, although if she did, how would all of you guys know that she wasn't lying? Food for thought my friends... **

**Okay, I just finished a maths assignment, my last one forever but it was just plain annoying. I hate maths. Numbers confuse me so badly. **

**Anyway, ever noticed that our hero's stories seem to always start with a bright and cheery, blue skyed, sunny and happy day? Well, to hell with that! Let's have a little rain and thunder baby!**

**------------------------------------------------**

_**Rain**_

Luffy's hat drooped under the weight of the rain pouring down onto it. He looked up as thunder rumbled and lightning ran across the sky, creeping through the dark clouds like a river on a map.

"With all this rain, we have no idea where we're heading!" Zoro's voice cut through the air, quick and sharp and making Luffy turn his head so he could hear better over the pattering of the rain on the deck. The swordsman was standing in front of the navigator, no raincoat and his white shirt sticking to him.

"Well that's not my fault! It was Luffy's decision to keep going rather than drop anchor and wait!" Nami returned, arms wrapped around her upper torso as she shivered in the rain, her raincoat slick with water. Zoro paused and didn't say anymore.

He knew very well that Luffy was captain, and what Luffy said, went… sometimes. Luffy blinked, his face emotionless. It _had _been his decision to keep going and as far as he was concerned, they would _keep _going. For some reason, something in Luffy's gut was pushing him to keep going. To push through. And the captain always followed his urges.

"Luffy! This is ridiculous!" Sanji yelled from the kitchen door. The captain turned and smiled.

"I know!" he replied and Sanji scowled. Despite raincoats, everyone was soaked to the bone, but, no one was game to go below deck in case the ship sank. At least, that's what everyone said but, the captain knew it was because they were watching out for him and Chopper. If they were swept overboard, everyone would want to be there to make sure they were saved.

"Captain, this _is _ridiculous." Zoro's voice muttered beside him. Luffy shrugged, ignoring the use of his formal title. Zoro's voice had been low and quiet, meaning the swordsman didn't want the rest of the crew to know what they were saying.

"I feel something Zoro." Luffy replied, matching the quietness in Zoro's voice. The swordsman sighed, blowing out a breath with puffed cheeks and making water go everywhere. Not that it made much difference, a bucket of water could have come down on their heads and they wouldn't have been able to feel it.

"Right," he said simply. Luffy looked up at him and grinned. Zoro's hair, though shot and siky, was plastered down from the rain, water dripping in a steady stream from the front. Zoro smiled down at Luffy, "After all, you are the captain, captain." and the swordsman clapped Luffy on the shoulder before walking away. Luffy smiled again.

He could always count on Zoro's full support behind everything he did. Except of course when Luffy chose Zoro as his playmate. Then Zoro was one hundred percent… not interested.

But then, as Luffy watched the water run down the back of the figurehead's head, he recalled all the times that Zoro _had _consented to play with him, and then something had happened and Luffy had screwed everything up.

Such as, flinging himself across the deck in a game of tag, knocking into Zoro and then throwing them both over the side of the ship. Luffy shook his head, getting rid of the drips that were forming on the end of his nose, the ends of his hair, the front of his hat and the bottom of his chin. This rain was great. It was the closest thing to being in an ocean.

"L-Luffy! It's freezing! Come on into the kitchen and Sanji can give you something to eat!" Nami wheedled, trying to coax Luffy out of the rain. The captain shook his head, the lure of food falling on deaf ears. There was something there, something he felt he needed to see.

A landmark of some sort that he had heard about?

An island?

Something.

There was the light snap of the kitchen door and the captain realized he was alone on deck. Luffy narrowed his eyes and walked forward, his sandals slapping against the wet deck. The ship rolled on the sea, the water choppy but for once it wasn't dangerously so.

Luffy's features were lit by a flash of lightning from overhead and thunder rumbled loudly. He moved up the stairs and onto the bow where he stood and watched the rain hit the ocean, tiny splashes against the water making it look like a million fish were seething beneath the surface. He watched it quietly, waiting for something to appear in the dark.

"What are you waiting for?" Zoro asked behind him. Luffy turned slightly so he could see his first mate out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't know. Something." the boy replied. Zoro shook his head. At that moment, the rain intensified, falling heavily on the deck and making Luffy slouch forward slightly. Zoro sighed.

"Look, Luffy, not that being out in the rain is a problem… well, actually it is, but, if you stay out here, you're gonna get sick." he said. Luffy smiled.

"I don't get sick Zoro, you should know that by now." he replied.

"Fine. Then I'm gonna get sick."

"Then go inside."

"…wonderful. And what happens if you get swept overboard?" and Luffy shrugged.

"Then stay there. I don't care. But I'm waiting Zoro." and the boy looked out to the sea again. Zoro sighed and walked forward, moving to stand in the spot beside his captain, a spot he had been standing in for a long time now.

"Why are you waiting anyway? You don't know what it is, and even if we are heading in the right direction." the swordsman said. Luffy sighed and Zoro nodded, "Yeah, I know. You feel something." and he was silent.

"Always know what I'm thinking, don't you?" Luffy asked quietly, his voice almost hidden under the sound of the rain. Zoro shrugged.

"Sometimes. But, not all the time." he admitted. Luffy nodded.

"Captain and first mate are meant to be like that. At least, that's the way I think it's meant to be." and he shrugged. Zoro blinked, water droplets hanging from his lashes and annoying him before he reached up a thoroughly soaked arm and wiped them away, leaving more there than there had been before.

"Yeah… I think so too." and he smiled down at Luffy who grinned right back, his hat drooping. The boy noticed how wet Zoro's head was. And Luffy could feel that his own skull was relatively dry. He pulled the hat from his head and smooshed it onto Zoro's.

"Don't want you getting sick." he said. Zoro blinked and then smiled.

"Thanks Luffy." he replied. Luffy grinned and tilted his head so his wet hair fell to the side.

"No problem!" and then he blinked and whined, "It's gone."

"Huh?"

"The hunch thing, it's gone." he replied. Zoro almost fell over from the shock.

"It's WHAT! You mean, we've sailed through this damn storm, through the damn rain, on a hunch you had and now it's Gone?" he yelled. Luffy grinned nervously and rubbed the back of his head, rain dripping down his arm.

"Uh… yeah?" and Zoro threw his hands in the air, Hat still on his head as he walked away. Luffy blinked.

"What's his deal?" he asked.

As Zoro walked away, he noticed the hat on his head and paused. It was warm, and it was keeping his head dry, but, it was Luffy's hat. He had better return it. And he turned on his heel to do so, but found Luffy was right behind him.

"Gah!" he yelled as Luffy pushed his face into Zoro's so they were practically nose to nose.

"Zoro?" he asked in a slightly commanding voice. Zoro gulped, feeling a little self conscious at having his personal space invaded like this.

"Yeah?" he replied and Luffy raised an eyebrow, a sly grin coming to his face.

"Thanks for being my first mate." and he quickly pressed a warm kiss to Zoro's cold and wet cheek before hurrying into the kitchen. Zoro blinked as he felt the kiss's light pressure still on his cheek until the rain washed it away and he was left with only the memory of the feeling, but it was enough to make him smile.

Luffy… was enough to make him smile. And the rain continued to pour, dripping from the edges of the captain's straw hat, and onto the first mate's face.

**End**

**-----------------------------**

**Well, the whole hunch thing went no where. I was planning on having it as an island, a place Luffy had seen in a dream, but then, I got annoyed with the fact that it sounded all weird and spasticated, so I scrapped it and put in some fluff instead. And it wasn't all sunshine, daisies and butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow! -blinks- Oh great, now harry potter is invading my life. Hooray! -falls over- **

**btw: disclaimer: I do not own one piece, nor harry potter, and if I did, how would you know anyway? You don't know me. Uh uh! -grins- You guessed it! I had COFFEE! ahahahahaha! I am on a high... again. Oh great, now I am drabbling on pointlessly. -shakes head- Bye bye peeps! -whacks herself with hammer and goes to sleep- zzzzzzz**


	40. Surprise

**A ZoLu story that has no s-s-s-sap! (as Clarobell puts it) No, sappy 'I love you Zoro' 'I know, I've always known.' --- personally, I don't even like sap, but, it's just so easy to write. Anyway, read this story, and be amused. -grins-**

**----------------------------------**

_**Surprise!**_

"IT'S MINE!" Luffy's voice echoed throughout the ship. Nami looked up from her map, Usopp was startled out of his story telling and Chopper squeaked in fright and hid behind the back of a chair. Sanji paused in his washing of the dishes and Robin placed a finger against the page of her book.

"IT IS NOT!" Zoro's voice echoed back. Nami sighed and looked back at her map again, her mouth twisting in annoyance.

Robin smiled lightly and continued reading, a hand sprouting from her shoulder to pick up the glass of lemonade sitting on the small table that had been set up beside her. Usopp returned to his story and Chopper was once again entranced, and Sanji sighed before going back to his dishwashing.

"I TOLD YOU ZORO! I TOLD YOU THAT IF I LENT YOU THAT SHIRT AS A CLEANING THING FOR YOUR SWORDS, YOU WOULD SAY IT WAS YOURS!" Luffy's voice yelled. There was an aggravated growl and Sanji accidentally jumped and broke a plate as Zoro yelled back.

"I GAVE THAT DAMN SHIRT RIGHT BACK TO YOU AGAIN! I FOUND ONE OF MY OWN!" the swordsman yelled.

"THAT'S IT!" and Luffy's last statement was followed by a long… and very deep silence. Sanji blinked. Shouldn't there have been the sounds of fighting? Yelling? Things breaking? He turned and looked at Usopp, who had paused in his storytelling to also listen intently.

"Sanji!" Nami's light voice came from outside. The chef hurried outside, Usopp and Chopper following. The navigator had a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Would you please go down and check on Zoro and Luffy? This silence is making me uncomfortable." she said.

"Ah, of course my wonderful flower!" Sanji replied before moving over to the trap door and opening it. He walked down the stairs and moved towards the boy's cabin.

There was a soft flump and Sanji raised an eyebrow before putting his hand on the door and pushing it open. He opened his mouth to say something but then his eye widened when he saw what had silenced the captain and swordsman. They were very… er, _busy _in the room. Glued at the mouth seemingly.

Sanji stood there for a moment before grabbing the door and closing it silently.

"Well… that solves the mystery." Sanji muttered before moving back up the stairs again. Nami fixed him with an expectant stare as he closed the trap door. He smiled.

"They're… fine. Discussing their problems in a more… personal way." he replied and then moved into the kitchen. Nami blinked and then smiled.

"Well, at least they aren't shouting. That's the main thing." and she finished a drawing on her map with a flourish.

**End**

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**There ya go. No sap, see? -points excitedly at story and then sticks her tongue out at Clare- Leave a review, and tell me how non-sappy it was. please? -puts on her special patented Luffy's innocent eyes- **


	41. Cast a single shadow

_**Cast a single shadow**_

Trees rustled beside a green haired man as he stared at the shadow on the ground. It was large, and the outline was solid, the simple movement of a hand waving in the air, disturbing it's cool peace.

A bird flew overhead, it's shadow merging with Zoro's for a moment before moving on past it. The swordsman looked upwards towards the sky and put a hand up to shade his eyes from the sun.

The bird was heading at a fast pace towards the horizon. Zoro tilted his head and then looked over at a particularly comfortable looking tree and moved to lean against it. This always happened.

He had left Luffy with Usopp and he had gone ahead, but then guilt had struck that he had left Usopp alone with Luffy, and then he stopped, and then somehow… he found himself staring at his own shadow and wondering why it just didn't look right.

As he was doing now.

Even leaning against the tree, his eyes strayed to the dark pool that shivered beside him, seemingly attached to his feet. Glancing around, to make sure his captain and fellow crewmate weren't lurking somewhere, he flicked one of his swords to make the shadow dance.

He smiled lightly at the way the single sword could have such an effect on the shadow's shape. It was when a cloud passed over the sun that Zoro frowned and looked upwards. He glared at the cloud until it moved on, but when the sun came back out, he found something added to his own shadow.

Something that hadn't been there a few minutes ago. A brim of a hat that was covering the top of his shadow. He turned and saw his captain standing there, eyes glued to the shadow. The boy smiled.

"Cast a single shadow!" he cried and Zoro suddenly realized why the shadow didn't look right when he was alone. He needed Luffy in it.

**End  
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**There, some more sap to keep you entranced. Short, sweet, and... sweet. -shrugs- couldn't think of anything better to say. **


	42. Opposites attract

_**Opposites attract**_

Usopp wandered over to Nami, who was lying back on her deck chair. Usually, the marksman would be too scared to interrupt her, but today, something was bothering him. He wanted to know something that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Nami?" he whispered. The orange haired woman sighed.

"What?" she asked in an annoyed tone. Usopp winced slightly, but ventured forward.

"Why do they fit together so well?"

"…huh?" and she sat up, her eyes coming to rest on the long nosed boy.

"Luffy and Zoro. Why do they fit together?" he asked and looked towards where the two were laying splayed out by the rail, their hands clasped together while the rest of their bodies was as spread out over the deck as could be.

"Well. Opposites attract." she replied with a yawn. Usopp blinked.

"Opposites?"

"Mhm. I mean, look at them. Luffy's a fun loving, happy, bouncy, energetic kid." she replied as she leaned back, not even bothering to watch the sleeping pair anymore, "Zoro, is a grown up… sometimes, he is serious, quiet, and likes to sleep."

"That's it?" Usopp asked, tilting his head slightly. Nami shrugged.

"Luffy's skinny like a girl, and Zoro's the muscle man."

"I guess…"

"Luffy's shirt is red, Zoro's haramaki is green."

"What's that got to do with it?"

"Those colours are opposites."

"Ohhh. But, your hair is red Nami." and there was a very long, very dangerous silence.

"My hair is ginger… And if you are implying that Zoro and I go together, than your money is in serious jeopardy." the navigator said to the quaking marksman.

"Nnn… Get up Zoro!" Luffy's voice echoed across the ship. Nami and Usopp looked over. The swordsman frowned in his sleep before pulling Luffy over and pushing him against the rail before smothering him with his own body and pillowing his head on Luffy's shoulder while he wrapped his arms around Luffy's waist. The boy had now become Zoro's personal teddy bear. The captain blinked for a minute before smiling.

"Guess he doesn't wanna wake up." and he yawned, "Might as well have another nap." and he went back to sleep, his head resting against the deck. Nami smiled slyly at Usopp, who sighed.

"I guess opposites do attract." and he stood and walked away.

"And Luffy and Zoro fit." Nami muttered before yawning and going back to sleep herself.

**End**

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**There you have it. The reason why Luffy and Zoro fit together so well... not really. I'm just being a dork. Anyway, hope it was nice enough for you all. **


	43. Plans

_**Plans**_

Zoro lay on the deck, arms locked behind his head and nose twinging slightly from the chill of the night. He yawned widely and let his gaze slide towards the sky. The moon was bright tonight and the stars were twinkling like fireflies stuck to a big bluish black thing. Idly reaching down, his scratched his chest as he watched shooting star fly across the sky.

"_Make a wish Zoro!" _He heard Luffy's voice in his head. Zoro blinked and sighed. Why was he always hearing that kid's voice now? He heard enough of it during the day. A cloud floated across the top of the moon and, in Zoro's tired and lazy mind, it kind of looked like Luffy's smile.

The moons brightness could have rivalled that kid's glowing teeth and the cloud across the moon looked like the ever present hat. He smiled slightly, his eyes drooping down as sleep threatened to take him down.

"WHA!" and next thing, Luffy was laying a bundled heap beside. Zoro was shocked, amazed and… a little frightened, but, he didn't let it show. The captain groaned as he rearranged himself.

"Stupid Sanji." he muttered rather vehemently. Zoro raised an eyebrow. He should have known.

"Trying to sneak a midnight snack again?" he asked. Luffy looked around at him, legs crossed and hands readjusting the hat on his head. He pouted.

"No! I was asleep in my hammock and they just threw me out here!" the boy cried and Zoro blinked before his eyes narrowed and he looked towards the kitchen door where an orange and blonde head could be seen, reflecting in the light.

"Gee, I wonder where they could be now!" Zoro yelled towards the door and it snapped shut. The swordsman sighed and shook his head.

"So, whatcha doin?" Luffy asked as he scooted over to sit next to his best friend. Zoro shrugged.

"Just watchin'." he replied as he looked back towards the moon. Luffy looked up at him from underneath his hat, and tilted his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh…nothing." Zoro replied and yawned.

"Aha! You're tired." Luffy cried and then yawned himself, his hand coming up to smother it.

"So are you apparently." Zoro commented. Luffy's mouth twisted.

"Your eyes are all droopy and stuff."

"They are not." and Zoro blinked, though it took a lot of effort to pull his eyelids back up again. Luffy was grinning triumphantly when he finally did manage to get them open again. He frowned.

"Are! I saw it! Hey, look!" Luffy suddenly cried, his sharp eyes picking up something flying across the sky. Zoro looked in the direction Luffy was pointing at and his eyes widened slightly.

A large star was flying across the sky, much larger and slower than the shooting star he had seen before. And as it soared across the sky, it burst into a hundred tiny shards and glittering, it fell into darkness. Luffy and Zoro blinked at each other for a second.

"What was that?" Luffy asked. Zoro shrugged.

"I don't know… looked like a shooting star but, it burst apart." he replied before the excitement wore off enough to let him yawn again. Luffy frowned.

"St-sto-stop it Zor-Zoro!" Luffy cried as he tried to stifle a yawn, but failed. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"So, any idea why they threw you out here?" the swordsman asked. He already had a sneaking suspicion. Another one of Nami's plans to try and get him to admit that he liked Luffy.

"Nope. Sanji and Nami just picked me up and threw me out here." he replied as he leaned back against the mast.

"Morons. I'll slice that shitty cook in the morning." he said tiredly. Luffy nodded as he leaned against Zoro's shoulder.

"Night Zoro." and the next thing he heard was Luffy's light snores. Zoro sighed and then smiled.

"Night Luffy." he replied. He may not have admitted it tonight, but if Nami kept it up, she wouldn't be far off making him crack. Her and Sanji had already had at least ten talks to him about Luffy and how he felt, but he had just crossed his arms, denied the blush in his cheeks and then walked off.

They also had a tendency to do things like they had done tonight, like putting Luffy in his hammock while they were both asleep, and such. To tell the truth, it was beginning to get annoying. Zoro sighed and leaned back against the mast, gently adjusting Luffy so the boy had a more comfortable position against his shoulder, before staring back at the stars again.

"Ah screw it." he muttered and let his eyes close.

**End**

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**There ya go. And yes, the quote about the 'fireflies stuck to a big bluish black thing' was by Timon, from the Lion King. Hooray! I love that movie. I mean, who doesn't love Timon and Pumba? Seriously. -throws random Timon's and Pumba's at the world- Love them! -evil eyes- Anyway, hope you enjoyed and a review would be helpful! Please? -nudge, nudge, wink, wink- Ah forget it. **


	44. Goodbye

**No idea why this came into my mind. Meh, it's sweet. Not a ZoLu, just friendship. Nothing more. **

_**Goodbye**_

"One day… we're going to have to leave you Luffy." Nami said. Luffy blinked and then laughed.

"That's silly. How can my friends leave? You guys have to stay with me forever." he replied. Zoro, who had been leaning against the wall, slowly opened his eyes, a look of confusion and sadness rolling across his face before it was masked with a little bit of anger that Nami had even mentioned such a ridiculous idea.

"But Luffy… we can't stay on the sea forever." Nami had continued. The rest of the crew were silent, their own thoughts of what would happen if they split up, running through their heads.

"Yes you can!" and Luffy jumped to his feet. Zoro watched, his mouth dropping open a fraction. He was amazed at what Luffy was doing. It was denial, but, in a weird way.

"No-" Nami began to object but Luffy interrupted.

"The sea is our home! Like the Merry! We can't leave it!" and with that, the boy skipped out the door. Zoro blinked. How the hell had this conversation even begun anyway? Oh, that's right, Usopp had asked what Sanji would do when the chef had finally found the Great blue. Zoro sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he stood.

"Great Nami, you just hurt the captain's feelings." he commented harshly. Sanji made no response. Nami's mouth dropped open and then she sighed.

"Yeah. But he's going to have to accept it eventually." she replied. Zoro frowned.

"Yeah, eventually. You didn't have to go and tell him all about it now. When the time comes, he'll let us go. It's not like he's obsessed with us or something." the swordsman growled. Nami frowned.

"Seems that way at times." Usopp commented quietly. Zoro turned on him.

"You're the one who started this damn conversation so don't you talk." he growled before walking out of the kitchen and slamming the door behind him. He paused and sighed. He hadn't meant to be that rude, but, he guessed it was a part of his own denial.

He didn't want this dream to be over. He didn't want the friends he had made, to leave. For the first time in his life, people weren't calling him a demon, or a blood lusting monster. It had hurt him like a kick in the ribs when he would walk down a street and see the villager's whispering behind their hands, or holding their children tighter, when he walked by.

The full moon shone down beatifically on the scene of the deck. He took a moment to just stand there, and look. A moment to just think, how lucky he had been to have a kid in a straw hat, come along and advance him further towards his dreams than he could have ever hoped.

Speaking of, said straw hat was leaning against the rail at the prow of the ship, one leg cocked behind the other. Zoro shook his head. He wasn't Luffy's first mate for nothing, and he knew that stance. It was Luffy's, defensive, and leave me alone stance.

Or, Luffy's thinking stance, depended one what the situation was. Either way, Zoro knew something was bothering the boy. He moved across the deck at a leisurely pace, letting his boots clump so that Luffy would have time to rearrange his thoughts.

If the boy wanted to talk when he reached him, so be it. If not, then that was fine too. Zoro wasn't going to force him to speak. In all honesty, he didn't really want to talk about it himself. As he reached the captain, there was a light sniff and Zoro sighed. Luffy had been doing what he had suspected the boy would be doing.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, clearing his throat and looking out at the sea before leaning against the rail as well.

"Huh? Who me? Nah, I'm fine." Luffy responded in that carefree and happy tone.

"Ok." and he was silent as he watched the reflection of the moon, glitter on the surface of the water.

"Do you really think we will separate Zoro?" Luffy asked after a while. Zoro took a deep breath and then let it out before answering.

"I… don't know. I hope not." he replied softly. Luffy looked up at him and Zoro smiled.

"You're the first real friends I've had in a while." he continued. Luffy tilted his head.

"What about Yosaku? And Johnny?" he asked. Zoro waved a hand in the air.

"They're more like acquaintances. I don't get to see them very often anyway." he replied. Luffy blinked and then nodded, "You see Luffy. This is my family." and he stopped there, not willing to voice anymore of his feelings to the night. Or to Luffy.

"Yeah…" Luffy agreed, "I can't think of life without them, without you. It kinda sucks if I try." and the boy chuckled. Zoro smiled lightly.

"Kinda sucks when I try too. But, Luffy, we've still got to find One Piece before we do anything else. And you'll have ages as being King of the Pirates." and he grinned. Luffy brightened and grinned back.

"Yeah! We'll still be together for ages yet!" the boy cried. Zoro nodded, trying to reassure himself of the fact. Luffy brightened further before slapping his friend on the shoulder.

"You're right! I'm gonna go tell Nami that." and he hurried away. Zoro let him go, and went back to the sea.

"Only a short time left… really." and a vision of Luffy on the tower at Roguetown flashed through his mind and he frowned, "Not gonna let that happen. After all," and he grit his teeth, "if I'm gonna enjoy what time I have left with this kid, I'm gonna have to make sure he stays alive." and he yawned, "But even after the day we do break up, he'll always be my captain. Forever." and with that Zoro slid down to the deck, and let his eyes close. _Forever. _

**End**

**So, yeah, sweet, short, and I'm very tired. Night night. -falls asleep on her computer.- -snore- reviews! -snore-**


	45. Fairy tale

**I don't own One Piece, I don't own Aladdin, or any other story mentioned in here. K? Understand? If you don't, go lick a rock. XP**

_**Fairy tale**_

It was like a fairy tale. Like, beauty and the beast, or Aladdin. Something that had been told so often that it was permanently engraved into one's mind. Beautiful stories of love, of things that people wish could happen to them.

Well, this fairy tale was similar, and yet, different. It was every day life really. The sea was rocking the ship that sailed on it's mirror-like surface, while a flag bearing a grinning skull and crossbones with a straw hat on top, flapped gently in the light breeze.

A large sail bearing the same insignia was barely floating outwards as the ship continued on it's way, slowly cutting it's way through the blue surface of the sea. An occasional caw of a seagull could be heard as the ship approached an island, but the island was still in the distance. Barely a hill on the horizon and nothing to be panicked about. Other than the caw's, there was silence. Beautiful, peaceful, silence.

"FOOD!" well, that just ruined the scene, didn't it? Back to the fairy tale.

"You're not having food until everyone else is!" a grouchy voice responded. The captain of the straw hat's pouted.

"Buuuuut Sanjiiiiiiii!" he whined.

"Ah shut up and go and annoy someone else." Sanji responded before slamming the kitchen door. Luffy stood there for a minute before grabbing the edges of his face and pulling it downwards while poking out his tongue at the same time.

"And… the point of that is?" Zoro asked as he stepped down the last step and paused to look over at his best friend. Luffy shrugged and let his face snap back to the way it was normally.

"Sanji won't let me eat." he replied. Zoro nodded slowly.

"Right. So you make a funny face, at a closed door?" and he chuckled as he stepped down onto the deck and went to his favourite spot by the mast. Luffy glanced at the closed door, and decided that his annoying of Sanji could wait until he had had a talk with Zoro first. Running across the deck to his first mate, he bounced down onto the wood and turned to face the swordsman.

"Zoro?" he asked. The older paused in his rearranging of his shirt to look at the captain.

"What?" he grunted before continuing.

"Do you know what a fairy tale is?" the boy asked. Zoro finished with his shirt and haramaki and leaned back against the mast, arms crossed behind his head.

"Nope. Don't wanna know either." he replied. Luffy pouted.

"Come on Zoro." the boy wheedled.

"Nope."

"Zorooooooo!" Luffy whined.

"Argh, fine. Why do you want to know?"

"Because, I want you to tell me one."

"Why?"

"Cos' I'm bored." and this answer caused Zoro to give his famous 'You're annoying me but I'll humour you so you'll leave me alone' groan.

"Fine. How about beauty and the beast?" he asked, not wanting to tell something that involved too much sap, and that he could amp up the beast's growly tantrums and stuff.

"Nah. I know that one." Luffy responded, causing Zoro to deflate. That was that idea out the proverbial window, "Make one up."

"What?"

"Make one up? Please?" and Luffy's eyes went wide, like they did every time he was trying to get something he wanted. Usually though, these eyes, were reserved just for Zoro. They ended up getting him kicked, slapped, or just plain yelled at when he tried them on everyone else. So, Zoro was the lucky bunny who got to cave under his captain's puppy dog like stare.

"Alright, alright. Geeze, I wish you wouldn't look at me like that." Zoro replied, his big, tough, persona crumbling almost instantly.

"Yay!" and Luffy settled himself beside his first mate, moving his backside so he was able to lean against Zoro's shoulder.

"How about… this one? Once, there was a little pirate. He wanted to be out on the sea, but, every time he tried to leave home, he was denied the opportunity." and here Luffy gave a slight whine which made Zoro smile as he continued, "The little pirate then decided that he would sneak away. He did so, but he accidentally fell asleep in a barrel." and Zoro paused to see if Luffy would recognize where this was heading. Luffy was silent, so, he was either thinking about it, or just listening to the story. So, Zoro continued.

"And the little pirate was then found in the barrel, and brought onto a ship. He saved the life of a young boy who was eternally grateful, as he had spent most of his time serving under a mean woman. The two boys, the little pirate and the rescued servant, then continued on their way to a big island." and he paused again, still wondering what Luffy was thinking. The boy still said nothing, and so Zoro continued again.

"They reached the island where there was a scary man whom most people were afraid of. But the little pirate was not. He walked straight up to him, and then demanded that the scary man be a part of his crew." and Zoro felt Luffy giggle lightly and he paused.

"Zoroooo, I wanted you to make one up." the captain said, a grin on his face.

"I did." Zoro responded. Luffy shook his head.

"That's _our _fairy tale." the boy said and looked up at him. Zoro blinked.

"Does our fairy tale have an ending?" he asked.

"I dunno. Guess we'll have to make one when it's time for the fairy tale to be over." and with that, and no new fairy tale under his hat, the boy skipped away. Zoro smiled.

"Our own ending huh?" and he smiled, "I think we can arrange that." and he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.

**End**

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**Oh god, how sappy was that? No kiss or anything, but still cute and cuddly. -gags- not really. I liked it. I thought I wrote it rather well, but then, I'm an idiot so, what do I know? Why not review and tell me what you think? -hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink- ah forget it. **


	46. Child

**Dedicated to Clare and Shiru because they apparently missed me so much! Love u guys! -throws random Luffy's, Zoro's, Sanji's, Ace's and potatoes- XD **

_**Child**_

Sitting in a restaurant at the end of town, the crew of the Straw Hat, sat around a large table that had empty plates scattered across it. Each member of the crew had a different look on their face as they watched their captain devour the last bit of his food.

Nami, was uninterested as she filed her nails and leaned back in her chair. Sanji, was utterly disgusted that someone could eat that much, and that messily, and not care about anyone else. Chopper, was amazed that Luffy didn't pop like a large, overfilled balloon. Usopp, was on the verge of telling a long tale about how he had defeated the horrible eating monsters that took over yada yada yada.

And then there was Zoro. Who was waiting for the boy to finish so he could announce that Luffy now looked like he was a giant bouncy ball. Why?

Who knew.

Probably because at the start of the meal, Luffy had challenged Zoro to an eating contest, and, after being called a chicken by Sanji, a wimp by Nami, a muffled whimper from Usopp, and a hero by Chopper, the swordsman wasn't going to pass up the challenge to prove them wrong... or right, as the case may be.

Well, Luffy had just kicked his retrospective ass by eating about ten and a half more plates than what Zoro could ever hope to eat. The swordsman was tough, but he wasn't suicidal. Luffy finished his last bite and patted his now well rounded stomach.

"That was yummy!" he announced. Zoro frowned, and then came the insult he had been dying to say all through that last plate of food.

"You look like an oversize bouncy ball." he commented. Luffy blinked and then laughed as he looked down at himself.

"Guess you lose Zoro!" he announced. Nami looked up momentarily.

"Yeah yeah. Whaddo I gotta do?" Zoro asked. Sanji sneered but didn't say anything.

"Hmm, hop on one foot and put your finger on your nose. In this restaurant." the boy replied, smiling smugly. Nami scoffed and stood.

"You're such a child Luffy." she said before walking out.

"Nami! Wait for me my lovely!" and Sanji flounced after her.

"Ha, poor Zoro!" Chopper squealed before following. After all, he may have been small, and he may have been young, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be associated with someone who was hopping around on one foot like a drunk. Usopp had a similar thought, and the two were gone. Luffy looked over at Zoro.

"What did I do?" he asked, a small frown on his face. Zoro shrugged and smiled.

"Nothing." he replied and stood, "guess I may as well get this over with." and even as he was hopping around, being laughed at by everyone who cared to look, which was just about… well, everyone, he thought about what the others had said.

He had to disagree. Luffy was child_ish_ but he wasn't _a _child. The captain was a fun loving guy, and no matter what the others said, Zoro would always know better. Whether he would say it aloud though, was another thing.

**End**

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**Childish, I meant in terms of the fact that he was a joyful, and happy person. So, yeah. Hope you got what I was trying to have Zoro say. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. **


	47. Iron clasp

**Tis short, tis sweet, and I am very proud of it. **

**--------------------------------------------------**

**Iron clasp**

**By: WishingforaZoroplushie**

Zoro never thought he would be affected so strongly by someone so… stupid. And that's what his captain was. Stupid! There was no other word for it! Okay, so maybe there were a couple. Dumb, idiotic, random, but that was beside the point. His heart… however strongly it beat in his chest, however far it reached for his dream, it was sealed. Like an iron clasp. It had been sealed for most of his life, even though he was only nineteen. It didn't matter.

He had seen more throughout his short lifetime than any other mortal in this realm. Nothing ever wormed it's way under that defence. Nothing had ever managed to shatter the glass that sealed his soul inside of him. Nothing… until now. The being that sat before him, tilting it's head and gazing at him with eyes large enough to swallow the moon above, was smiling in a way that made that iron clasp glow with warmth.

It was all he could do to stop himself smiling in return. Instead, he reached out a hand and laid it on the head and scratched at the hat and hair until the being giggled and shoved him away. That was the only thing he could do to show his affection. Always had been. He couldn't go any further. His heart wouldn't allow it. And as his captain turned away, that iron clasp cooled around his heart again until it cracked… and began to crumble away.

**End**

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**Hee, yeah, me likey, do you? Reviews please, I can't say it anymore politer, and you wouldn't like the unpolite version. XD**


	48. Bed time

**I have to thank Shiruji-chan for this. A picture she has inspired me to write this story. Thanks shirujles! -hugs-**

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_**Bed time**_

Zoro blinked as he heard a loud crash from below deck.

"Luffy!" Usopp's voice echoed up to them. Zoro's eyes drooped.

"Of course." he muttered and closed his eyes again. It was pointless to try and figure out what had happened. Someone was sure to come up and yell about it sooner or later.

"He broke it and we can't fix the damn thing until we get to the next island!" Nami's voice came from below and then the trap door burst open and Zoro jumped from his spot and out of the way just in time before it smashed against the deck.

"I didn't mean to Nami." Luffy said as he followed her out. Usopp was next, quickly followed by the little doctor of the ship, Chopper.

"You didn't mean to, but you did." Usopp commented. Luffy turned to him with a frown and Usopp jumped backwards, hands in front of his chest in defence. Luffy looked back at Nami.

"Where am I gonna sleep then?" he asked. Nami paused and looked back at him and then spotted Zoro, who was watching the conversation with an indifferent expression on his face.

"Ask Zoro if you can sleep in his hammock." she replied and then chuckled darkly before moving into the kitchen and closing the door. Luffy blinked and turned to look at Zoro over his shoulder. The swordsman blinked back and then frowned.

"What?" he asked and stood, putting a hand on his hip.

"Nami said I should sleep in your hammock." Luffy explained and turned around completely. Zoro stiffened. He hadn't heard _that _ part.

"…What the hell for?" he asked, his face warming. He already knew the answer but, he had to think about his answer for a while, and that meant… delay.

"Well… Usopp, Chopper and me were playing downstairs, and I kinda… broke my hammock." and he pouted. Zoro sighed.

"Why can't you sleep in Usopp's…?" he asked.

"No way!" Usopp growled, "I need my personal space." and the marksman then hurried up to the crow's nest as fast as he could.

"What about Chopper's?"

"No. My hammock is too small for someone as tall as Luffy." the reindeer replied and hurried away as well.

"What about Sanji?" Zoro suggested. Luffy blinked and then hurried into the kitchen.

"Sanji, can I sleep in your hammock with you?"

"WHAT!? Get the hell out of here!!" Sanji's voice replied and then Luffy went flying out of the kitchen, "Little rubber perverted freak." and he slammed the door shut. Zoro sighed. Guess it was him or the floor then.

"Fine… you can sleep in my hammock." and he sighed. Luffy brightened from where he was lying upside down against the other side of the ship.

"Really!? Thanks Zoro!" and he flipped back onto his feet again. Zoro sighed again.

_Just fantastic…_He thought.

---

That night, during dinner, Zoro found a possible escape from his fate.

"Hey Usopp, your turn to do watch tonight." Nami said absently as Sanji and Zoro washed the dishes. Zoro blinked and then a sly smile spread across his face.

"Marimo! Hurry the fuck up and wipe that bowl so I can put this down." Sanji hissed beside him. Zoro frowned.

"Yeah, yeah." and he wiped the bowl, but, all the time, his eyes were fixed firmly upon the marksman.

As soon as he was finished, Zoro dived out the door and after Usopp.

"Usopp, oi, Usopp!" he called as he looked around the empty deck.

"What?" a voice came from above. Zoro looked up and saw Usopp's long nose peeking down at him. He put on a smile.

"How about I take your watch tonight?" he asked. Usopp blinked.

"Why?" he replied. Zoro frowned.

"Because I want to, now, do you want me to or not?" he growled. Usopp stiffened.

"Well, I, uh,…" he stuttered.

"You were on watch last night Zoro. Now get downstairs to bed." Nami said from behind him. Zoro turned to her with a frown.

"Fine." and he opened the trap door and stomped downstairs. When he reached the boy's dorm, he found Luffy already curled up in his hammock, but the snoring that the boy usually made was not to be heard, so he was obviously still awake. He sighed and walked in, thankful that Sanji hadn't come down yet. The blush that threatened to spread across his cheeks would surely have made the chef burst out laughing. He wandered over to the hammock and pulled his haramaki and swords off. There was a light shuffle and Zoro sighed.

"I know you're awake Luffy." he said. No reply. Zoro looked around and then quietly reaching a hand over, he gave Luffy a good, hard, poke. There was a small giggle that was quickly stifled and Zoro had to smile. He gave a loud, and very fake, yawn before letting himself drop backwards and straight on top of the Luffy sized lump that was laying in the middle of the hammock. There was a loud squeak and then,

"Zoroooooo! You're lying on top of me!" he squealed. Zoro shrugged.

"Sorry, can't hear you." he replied, a sly smile on his face as he held himself steady so Luffy couldn't push him off.

"Zooroooo!" the captain whined, his voice tremulous with laughter. Zoro grinned.

"Luffy? That you?" he asked.

"Yeessss! Now get off!" Luffy cried, giggling.

"Oh. Hi Luffy! Didn't see you down there. Sorry bout that, but, I'm kinda stuck." Zoro replied. There was a loud and exasperated sigh.

"Now you're just being silly." Luffy said. Zoro laughed.

"Am I?" and he let his feet slide to the floor, getting up from the hammock again. Luffy popped his head up from under the covers, his hair askew and all over his face. He was grinning like a fool and Zoro sighed.

"Shove over. I would like to get some sleep tonight _if _you don't mind." he said. Luffy pouted.

"Of course I don't." and he moved over to the other side of the hammock. Zoro stood there for a minute, his mind and body wrestling with one another. His mind was telling him he could handle it, but his body was telling him he couldn't. It refused to take that step towards the bed. Luffy looked up at him inquisitively with large, and deep eyes. _Very _deep eyes.

"Zoro? You have to get into the hammock to sleep." the captain commented, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Zoro frowned.

"I know that!" he growled and managed to force himself to move into the bed next to Luffy. The boy instantly fell towards him, his shoulder hitting against Zoro's. The swordsman stopped himself from jumping at the touch.

After all, it was no different than when he was fighting side by side with his captain. A sweat began to bead on his forehead, and he turned over so he was facing away from Luffy and stared determinedly at the ground. Luffy craned his neck over his shoulder, noticing that Zoro was trembling very slightly.

"Uh… Zoro?" he asked. Zoro grunted in reply, "You okay?"

"Fine." Zoro growled in return. Luffy turned over so he was leaning against Zoro's back. He laid his head against Zoro's shoulder and sighed.

"Night Zoro."

"Night." Zoro grunted in reply. There was a few moments of silence.

"Na Zoro. I can't sleep like this. Turn over." Luffy said. Zoro sighed.

"Deal with it." and he received a good hard poke in his shoulder blade, "Fine! Geeze…" and he turned over so he was facing Luffy. He was barely aware of the fact that Luffy's lips were mere centimetres from his and before he knew it, the swinging of the hammock and the dip in the middle, had pressed them together. The two blinked at each other for a moment before jumping back, blushing furiously and not meeting each other's eyes.

"Luffy I… sorry, it was the hammock… and I'm… sorry." Zoro said quickly. Luffy blinked at him.

"Umm… yeah." the captain replied. They moved around again, trying to get comfortable. And of course, the next thing they knew they were pressed together again and their lips were joined. Staying together a little longer this time, they broke apart and watched each other.

"That… that was me." Luffy conceded and grinned. Zoro blinked and then a small smile stole over his face.

"Oh?" and then he rocked the hammock a little, pulling Luffy towards him and wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulders, drawing him close and kissing him again. He ran his hands down Luffy's back, and then up to the base of his captain's neck.

Luffy shuddered slightly under the touch, but more than made up for it when he pressed harder into the kiss and licked at Zoro's bottom lip. The swordsman was a little surprised at Luffy's forwardness, but opened his mouth just the same. Zoro could feel Luffy wanting to go further, but they couldn't right now. Not tonight. He pulled away and Luffy took in a deep breath, gazing at him.

"What?" Luffy asked. Zoro shook his head but held Luffy close.

"Not tonight." he replied and Luffy pouted.

"Naww… no fun."

"I said not tonight. I didn't say not tomorrow." Zoro replied to the comment and then smiled slyly. Luffy blushed but grinned and hugged Zoro close.

"Night Zoro."

"Night Captain." and Zoro settled down, Luffy in his arms. He shouldn't have been so nervous about bed time after all.

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**Umm... yeah. No comment. But you can comment! Reviews please! -grin-**


	49. A plushie from Zoro

**I'm trying to get to a hundred drabbles. I don't have a deadline as such, but, I'm trying to get there. So, here's another one shot for you all!**

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_**A Plushie from Zoro**_

"Woooow!" the voice of the ever joyful captain of the Straw Hat pirates, echoed through the brightly coloured big tops of the spring carnival. The first mate of the Straw Hats stood loyally beside his captain and… well, what would you do, other than roll your eyes?

"Luffy, it's not _that _great." the chef commented, a cigarette in his mouth and his hands in his pockets. Dark chocolate coloured eyes were cast on the navigator as she nudged the captain's shoulder.

"Here," and she handed him a handful of money.

"Thanks Nami! You're the best!" Luffy cried. Zoro grunted in an annoyed manner. Luffy turned to him and tilted his head.

"You okay Zoro?" the captain asked. Zoro blinked and then nodded.

"Nami, I know what you're going to do, so, let me save you the trouble," Zoro growled before turning back to Luffy again, "Let's go Luffy." and he began walking away, Luffy jumping around at his side. Nami blinked.

"Actually… I was going to pair Luffy with Usopp." she muttered. Sanji chuckled.

"Just another point to prove that Zoro is in love with the captain." he said. Nami laughed.

"Well, me and Chopper can go off by ourselves." Usopp said. Nami nodded and handed them some money.

"Let's go Usopp! I wanna go on that big rollercoaster over there!" and the little reindeer pointed at a long and winding coaster track in which a small car was currently racing down, the six people inside it screaming as the car plummeted downwards. Usopp whimpered and then cleared his throat.

"Sure." he replied, his voice breaking slightly. Chopper blinked.

"Uh, Usopp? Are you scared? You're shivering." the little reindeer asked. Usopp looked down at him.

"Of course not! Let's go!" and he walked forward.

"Heh," Sanji said, "That leaves just us alone my darling Nami!" he cried. Nami rolled her eyes.

"I'm going shopping." she replied. Sanji blinked. "Come on," and she walked off, a noodle dancing chef trailing behind her.

---

Luffy looked back and forth as he walked, eyes taking in as much as they could in the short time they were allowed to look at the desired food. Zoro walked beside him, arms crossed and eyes tracing Luffy's every move. Last time he had taken his eyes off of his captain, he had been lost for an hour, only to be found by Usopp, upside down in a well, legs wrapped around the bar that held the bucket up. Naturally, the boy had fallen fast asleep while waiting for his crew to find him.

"Zoro look!" Luffy cried and then bounded through a group of people to get to a stall. Zoro hurried after his captain, muttering a hurried apology to the knocked over people before finally catching up to his captain. Luffy was staring at a large plushie toy which was in the likeness of a large dog.

"Soooo coooool." the boy moaned. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Why are you interested in that?" he asked before leaning on the counter of the stall. Luffy looked at Zoro and titled his head.

"Because, it's cool." he replied matter of factly. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Yeah… right." and he looked around as Luffy drooled over the toy, "So, Luffy, don't you think we should be moving? There's still heaps of other stuff to see."

"Naaaa! I wanna stay here!" Luffy whined as he continued looking at the toy. Zoro frowned.

"Don't you want something to eat?" he asked carefully. Luffy spun around and grinned up at the taller man.

"Yeah! Let's go!" he cried. They hurried through the carnival, Luffy pointing at various things and 'oohing' and 'ahing'. They walked past a large stall and Luffy stopped dead. Zoro paused when he realized there wasn't a bouncing ball of Luffy beside him. Turning back, he saw the captain staring at a large game stall. Inside the stall, was a large, bright blue plushie cat. Luffy was gazing fixedly at it, his eyes wide. In other words, Luffy wanted it. Badly. Zoro sighed and walked over.

"That'll be a hundred belli to play three games please sir." the vendor said with a large cheesy grin, and an oily demeanour. Zoro glared at him and the man sweated and backed away.

"Come on Luffy. These things are a gip." Zoro said, his gaze softening as it came to rest on Luffy.

"Na Zoro. I really like that though!" the captain whined. Zoro sighed and turned back to the vendor, who immediately hurried forward again, wringing his hands.

"What do you have to do to win?" Zoro growled. The vendor winced but Luffy didn't even acknowledge Zoro's harsh tone.

"You get three throws, any object of your choice from the rack behind me, and they have to hit three different coloured papers. If you do that, you get anything you want." the vendor explained. Zoro watched him for a minute and the vendor began to sweat, then Zoro stuck a hand in his pocket and then pulled it back out, fisting it. The vendor gulped and then Zoro slammed his hand down on the bench. The vendor jumped but then noticed that there was a hundred belli there.

"I'll take three of those daggers." Zoro asked. Luffy turned to Zoro and then turned back to the vendor, grinning from ear to ear. Zoro was going to win the plushie for him! The vendor handed Zoro the daggers and then scurried well out of the way. Zoro looked at the daggers and his lip curled.

"They're bent." he growled and then using his fingers, he gently grabbed the end and straightened the daggers back. The vendor laughed nervously. He had obviously bent them so they wouldn't go the direction the thrower wanted. Zoro flipped the dagger in his hand for a minute, before throwing each one in quick succession. The first dagger hit a blue paper, the second hit a red, and the third hit a green.

"Yaaaay!" Luffy cried, jumping up and down on the spot.

"W-which one w-would you l-like?" the vendor asked. Zoro pointed at the plushie cat and the vendor got it down and made to hand it to Zoro.

"Not for me. For him." Zoro growled, crossing his arms. The vendor handed it over and then scurried back into the darkness of his game booth. Luffy and Zoro left, Luffy jumping around with the large cat wrapped in his arms.

---

That night, Luffy still hadn't let go of the plushie, and instead was carrying it around everywhere he went. The lamps had been lit and Zoro was lying near the mast, liking to be outside rather than inside in the heat. It was good down under the deck, but it got damn stuffy. Next thing, Luffy popped up beside him, still carrying that damn plushie. He grinned at Zoro and then ran around and plopped down next to his first mate.

"Are you still carrying that around?" Zoro asked, his eyes shut. Luffy grinned.

"Yeah. I love it!" and he hugged the plushie close to his chest and smooched it. Zoro raised an eyebrow before opening his eyes and turning to his captain.

"Why do you like it so much?"

"Cos, Zoro won it for me." Luffy replied.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I love the plushie, because I love Zoro." and Luffy grinned. Zoro blinked at his captain's words.

"Uh…" he grunted but couldn't form coherent words. He was too stunned and… touched. Actually… why _was_ he so touched? Luffy continued grinning at him, but Zoro couldn't reply and Luffy's smile fell.

"Well, uh, I'm… I'm gonna go and get some food." and Luffy left but not quick enough for Zoro to miss the blush that had spread across the boy's cheeks. That made Zoro even more uncomfortable. Luffy had said he loved him, but, had Luffy meant _love _love? Or had Luffy meant friend love? But the blush on Luffy's cheeks must have meant something. Well… that left another question. Did Zoro love Luffy back?

He had never really thought about it. He had always looked out for Luffy, trusted him with his innermost secrets, fought tooth and nail to keep Luffy safe and had even seemed to be flirting with him at times, but, he had never let the thought of love cross his mind. He had been too busy with his dream… and had expected Luffy to be the same. Zoro leaned his head back against the mast. Life had just become a little harder.

The next morning wasn't so bad, because Luffy had mostly avoided him. But during the course of the night, Zoro had figured it all out. The answer had been there all along. Cornering Luffy in the kitchen, Zoro grabbed the boy and dragged him out the door, ignoring the taunts of 'Zoro's attempting rape on the Captain!' from Sanji.

"Zorooo! What are you doing?!" Luffy whined as Zoro dragged him across the deck and then downstairs and into the men's quarters. The plushie from the day before was sitting in Luffy's hammock and Zoro spun Luffy around and slammed him up against the wall. Luffy looked down at Zoro with betrayed eyes.

"Zo-" Luffy began but his protest died as Zoro pressed his lips against Luffy's. Luffy blinked in surprise before closing his eyes and pressing back against Zoro's lips. They broke apart for a second to breathe and then pressed together again, this time a little more ferociously than before.

"AHA!" a voice cried and the two broke apart to a flash. Nami had thrown open the doorway, her camera held tightly in her hands while Sanji cackled maniacally in the background. Luffy blinked in shock while Zoro went bright red before he cooled down and smiled slyly.

"Excuse me." he said politely, "But Luffy and I don't walk in when you two are together." and with that, he chased her back up the ladder and slammed the door after her.

---

Nami glared at Sanji, who was staring in shock.

"I told you to lock the door." she growled and stalked away.

"I'm sorry Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji cooed and hurried after her.

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**He he he. Hint of SanNam and a full on ZoLu kiss! Yay! Thankyou for reading! D**


	50. Open

**AU. ZoLu. SanNam (mentions)**

**Well, this story just decided it was going to pop into my head when I opened a packet of chips (That's crisps or whatever you want to call them. Not the hot chips anyway) amd they went all over myself and my mother. Evil inspiration! -kicks it- So anyway, another drabble to add to my collection! Wheeeee! -dances-**

**btw, this is what happens when your imagination decides 'Hey, let's make an ass of myself!' (that happens to me a lot. You just have to look at One Piece's Messed Up Fairy Tales. XD)**

**Dedicated to Calypso Callista because she's been pretty good at reviewing all of my recent work. Don't know if she (or he? -narrows eyes- are you a he?) well, Calypso has reviewed most of my recent work so yeah, this is for him/her. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, or Harry Potter, or any Zoro fanclubs, Luffy fanclubs, Nami fanclubs, or Sanji fanclubs. (Don't ask, just read)**

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_**Open**_

Ever opened a bag of chips and had them go everywhere and the flavouring go all over your face? Or someone else's face? Well, here's a little story to remember that most embarrassing moment, when you were sitting on the couch with your boyfriend/girlfriend and busted open a packet of chips and they went everywhere! Good times. Good times.

Living in a house on the corner of the street in a small suburban town, were two of the most opposite people you could ever meet. One was loud, happy and just generally a good guy. The other was moody, grumpy, sarcastic, and a bit of a bad boy. Okay, so he _was _a bad boy, but that's beside the point. It was known also that both of them were undeniably cute. The grumpy one, Roronoa Zoro, was all muscle, green eyes, broody, every girl's dark side dream.

Whereas the happy one, Monkey D Luffy, was skinny, but strong, dark eyes, dark hair and a smile that made a lot of girls want to just cuddle him. He was the cute one, while Zoro was the hot with two t's, one. What was even more known about these two though, was the fact that they were an item. A couple as it were. Yes, cute and hot guys usually were gay, but, it was still fun for the girls to fawn over them.

Zoro worked at the local gym, at the reception, leaning on the counter and watching the door with sleepy eyes. Watching the other people working out in the gym and making sure nothing went wrong… at least he did until he fell asleep on the counter. But, it was a bit of a shock to him the day he discovered he had a small fan club centralized within the gym… and he bolted from there as fast as he could with at least… oh, fifty girls running after him. Zoro hadn't been back to work at the gym since.

Luffy worked at the Primary School, teaching music and… well, the other teachers had to admit it was a little strange when Luffy took the kids outside for some singing and instead ended up playing tiggy with them. But the kids loved seeing Luffy everyday, and Luffy had to admit, seeing them was pretty cool too. Well, as it turned out, there was a high school next door, and Zoro and Luffy didn't have enough money to go to school, but they had been educated pretty well by a woman and her husband across the street. Nami and Sanji had taught them pretty well. But, about the high school.

At lunch times, a group of those girls scuttled over the fence and searched the Primary school high and low for Luffy until the teachers sent them back to their own school, while Luffy cowered under the table. He wasn't one to hide from anyone, but, damn those girls were scary when they got a hold of him. One day they had managed to even steal his shirt and he had had to bolt home for another one. Yes, Zoro and Luffy had fan clubs everywhere. Sanji had fan clubs. Nami had them as well.

Well, let's just say the whole town was just strange. Well, it was a cool night and Luffy and Zoro were curled up together on the plush couch in the middle of their lounge room. Bags of biscuits, Shapes, Potato chips and various other things were laid out on the table in front of them, ready for their late night movie of 'Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire'. Right now though, they were involved in 'ahem' other things.

The opening music of Harry Potter began playing and the two pulled apart and turned to the TV, Luffy snatching a bag of chips off of the table and grabbing either side of it, began pulling. Finally, the bag had had enough and popped, spilling barbeque flavoured chips in every direction, but mainly over Zoro, who blinked and looked at Luffy with narrowed eyes. The boy grinned and then licked Zoro's cheek.

"Barbequey!" he cried and grinned. Zoro sighed. Such was life, living with Luffy.

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**I can see your faces. You're all looking at this story like you think I'm an idiot, yes? well, you're probably right! I am an idiot! -grin- I'm not gonna deny it. How else do you explain me writing random stories like these? Anyways, reviews would be appreciated my wonderful friends!**


	51. Fire

_**Fire**_

She's not sure how they managed to get together.

She's not sure how they managed to get around each other's faults, and while she wasn't looking none the less.

After all, she's only been with them for a few days, and during those few days she's noticed how much they seem to mean to each other.

It's near impossible for that green haired moron not to smile when her new captain smiles.

And when they're together… maybe they do fit.

Just maybe.

But right now, as the yells of,

"AHH! Zoro! The food! Fire! Zorooooo!" fill her ears, and when the aggravated,

"What the hell do you want me to do about it!?" returns, she hopes that her ship will un-attach from theirs, simply so she can get a decent nights sleep.

_**End**_

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**Short I know, but, I just wanted to do something to get this image out of my mind... somehow, it didn't work and now I am going to have to write a proper one. Blah. **


	52. Us

**Enjoy everyone! Short, sweet, fluffy. A bit stereotypical, but, meh. I've wanted to do something like this for a while, and just could never word it right. But it worked... kinda, this time. **

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_**Us**_

It was surprising, it really was. So… sudden and over such a trivial thing. Well, maybe not that trivial, but, still… Anyway, that was Luffy, Zoro supposed, as he slumped further down into his sofa and watched a video of Luffy on the screen in front of him. Isn't that what you did when someone broke up with you? Watch movies of them laughing, and smiling, while you ate cookie dough and went through boxes of tissues?

Bah on that, Zoro wasn't going to cry, he wasn't even going to shed a tear and like hell was he going to eat cookie dough. But, he wanted to watch this little video, if only for the simple fact that when it is finished, he could tape over it in good conscience. Somewhere within his tired, and grumpy mind, Zoro vaguely wondered what Luffy was up to. Where he was. How he was feeling. Who he was with.

He also hoped that Luffy was feeling a pain in his heart, similar to Zoro's.

No… he didn't wish that.

Luffy was a good kid, and Zoro wouldn't wish anything bad on him. Sighing, Zoro finally let the feeling that he had been denying all night, rise to the surface. Love. Goddamned, 'I would do anything for you!' love! Yes, it was true… damn it all. Despite everything, Zoro still loved the little bastard. Loved him a lot! Letting himself sink back into the chair, Zoro let his eyes fall closed. A good nap was what he needed right now.

---

He was woken at about half past three in the morning, by an incessant knocking on his door. Yawning widely, Zoro moved to the door, cursing whoever it was for being such a jackass. Waking him this early in the morning!? They had to be suicidal. He opened the door and then blinked upon seeing a miserable Luffy gazing back at him. Silence reigned between them until Zoro cleared his throat.

"Luffy." he said. Luffy blanched at the tone of voice Zoro was using and turned his eyes towards the ground.

"Zoro… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to do that." he murmured in a timid, quiet voice. Zoro sighed.

"Get in here, you'll fucking freeze if you stay out there." Zoro commented, stepping out of the way so Zoro could enter. The boy hurried in and Zoro closed the door.

"…will… you forgive me?" Luffy mumbled, twiddling his thumbs nervously. Zoro raised an eyebrow and put his hands in his pockets.

"I was never angry." he replied. Luffy blinked at him and Zoro had to smile.

"You… but… really?"

"Of course not. Come on Luffy, you don't belong just to me, and just because I won't go somewhere with you, doesn't mean I don't want to _be _with you. You can do whatever you please, it doesn't worry me. I really don't care. Just don't piss off some poor unsuspecting random in the street like you did last time." and Zoro shook his head. Luffy blinked at him before a wide smile spread across his face.

"Zoro!" he cried and launched himself at the taller man. Zoro only just managed to pull his hands from his pockets in time to cushion most of the impact from Luffy's jump. They embraced for a moment before breaking apart again.

"Think you can put up with me now?" Zoro asked, a touch of sarcasm in his voice. Luffy grinned.

"Of course! I love you Zoro!" Luffy replied. Yeah, Zoro still loved the little bastard.


	53. Just to watch

**Not much, I know. But remember, I am trying to get to a hundred. And I like a song with a lyric in it (Don't remember the song -nervous laugh-) and it kind of inspired this fic. **

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_**Just to watch**_

He stays awake sometimes. Not very often. Sleep is essential for a man like him, but, he likes to watch. The way the moon casts shadows through the porthole, and across the room. The silentness of it all. It isn't much, he knows, but it's something.

Something that will make him smile for the rest of the day tomorrow. The heavy, deep breaths that linger nearby. The closeness of the contact. The way his eyelids flicker, and his mouth is open so slightly.

It's amazing.

It really is. He reaches out a hand, but for fear of waking the other, lets it drop down again. After a while, the sun begins to rise and he realizes that he needs to sleep… but, why? What does it matter? It's only another day of sitting around the ship, doing nothing, watching as Sanji chases Nami around like some sort of puppy. It's not even amusing anymore. He is about to drift off when the other's eyes open, and he lets out a soft chuckle.

"What are you doing Zoro?" the captain mumbles, rubbing at his eyes with a fist. Zoro tilts his head ever so slightly in a small shrug.

"Watching."

"Oh… why?"

"Cos I want to." and he smiles, "Now go back to sleep."

"Mmokay." Luffy mumbles, and yawns, letting his eyes slide closed again. Soon the sun will be up, and the new day will begin… but Zoro doesn't mind that he hasn't gotten any sleep. He can always catch up during the day.

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**and that explains why Zoro sleeps all day -wink-**


	54. The opportune moment

**Erm... well... this is basically what happens when Plushie can't think of anything better to write. lol. **

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_**The Opportune Moment**_

Lately, Zoro had been feeling as though he was being constantly watched. Of course, he always felt that way because he was on a ship full of people who watched each other and for good reason. What with three devil fruit users aboard, and the frightening prospect of them falling overboard and drowning, everyone was constantly watching everyone. But still… Anyway, Zoro shook his head and smirked.

He had a feeling he knew who was watching him, but he wasn't going to say anything. As a famous and strange pirate had said once, 'Wait for the opportune moment'. Zoro didn't know who that pirate was, but, the phrase certainly suited this situation. Well, the opportune moment presented itself one day when Nami called a meeting that Zoro and Luffy had run as far from as they possibly could. (It was a meeting to tally up the debts each member of the crew owed her) and those two had the highest rate, so, they had bolted. Hiding in the storage room had been the best bet, and so there they were. Zoro felt the opportune moment had presented itself, and therefore, took it by the throat and throttled the hell out of it.

"Oi, stop breathing so loud." Zoro said as Luffy leaned against the wall beside him. Luffy blinked at him.

"Sorry." he apologised and then let his head rest back against the wall, "Do you think we're safe?"

"Don't know. As long as she doesn't look for us, we're safe… for now. Won't be when we go back up again later though."

"Heh… Nami'll kill us for running."

"No, she won't. She'll just triple our debts." he responded. Luffy gave a short laugh and then turned so he was facing Zoro. The swordsman could feel the eyes scanning him and smirked inwardly. He turned to Luffy, and the captain's ears reddened ever so slightly. He peered up at Zoro carefully, wondering whether the swordsman knew or not.

"You want me." Zoro said teasingly. Yeah… Zoro knew. Luffy blinked, and something in his mind decided, hey, let's deny all concept of ever wanting Zoro in anyway. Apart from as a crew mate.

"No!" he instantly defended, stepping backwards. Zoro advanced on him a step, turning his shoulder towards the boy a little as he did so and grinning almost wolfishly.

"Do." Zoro muttered, still advancing on the boy. Luffy stuck his chest out and took another step back, which unfortunately happened to lead into a corner. Zoro slammed both palms into the wall on either side of Luffy's head and grinned into the captain's face.

"Not." Luffy muttered, but his resolve was quickly deteriorating as Zoro leant so close.

"Do." Zoro whispered and then pressed his lips to Luffy's. The first kiss hit a home run. Luffy tingled from head to toe, and his head spun wildly, but the need to respond to Zoro became almost unbearable and he pushed the swordsman off of him.

"Not." he growled, but his hands were clenched in the shirt. Zoro raised an eyebrow and leant in again. The second kiss won the game. Without even breaking the kiss, Zoro said,

"Do, and always have." so that was how he talked when he had a sword handle in his mouth.

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**Once again, this is what happens when Plushie watches too many movies where one of the characters obviously likes the other, and the other realizes, and takes advantage of the whole situation. Yeah... really gotta stop watching those movies. -sigh- And yes, this is in reference to Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean (I don't own that by the way). I love pirates of the caribbean... I love One piece... I love pirates in general! -grin-**


	55. Another point of view

**Okay, well, I decided it was time to quit having Luffy and Zoro figure out their feelings, and instead get seen by someone else. -winks-**

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_**Another Point of View**_

Chopper had never seen anything like it! Nami, Usopp and Sanji were calling it things, saying that they would have never thought they were capable of anything like that! Robin was simply smiling her mysterious smile.

"What do you think Chopper?" Usopp asked as he looked down at the fuzzy little reindeer. Chopper looked up at him and then back at the strange couple on the deck. He tilted his head a little this way, and then the other way before smiling.

"I think it's sweet!" he chirped. Sanji, Nami and Usopp all stared.

"What?" they asked as one.

"Well, if you love someone, what does it matter?" Chopper asked, looking back up at them. Usopp blinked and tilted his head.

"But… it's Zoro! And Luffy!" Usopp practically squealed. Chopper shrugged.

"So?"

"Come on Sanji-kun, I need a drink." Nami said in a defeated and annoyed tone.

"Of course Nami-swaaaaan!" Came the coo-ing response as Sanji danced after Nami like a fool. Usopp watched the chef for a moment before looking back to where Luffy was pointing up at the sky for some reason, and Zoro was rolling his eyes. Chopper tilted his head and smiled.

"You… really don't think it's weird?" Usopp asked softly. Chopper shook his head.

"No. Zoro and Luffy are good friends right? And they've been on this adventure longer than any of us! And Zoro would do anything for Luffy, and Luffy would do anything for Zoro." and he nodded and giggled, "And besides, who else would Zoro get to love him so much?" and Usopp laughed.

"True, very true."

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**Soooo, I think Chopper telling the others that it was fine for Luffy and Zoro are okay together, has been done at least... oooooh... a hundred times now? -shrugs- OOH! I know! -looks at the next drabble- the next drabble was inspired by this one. -nods-**


	56. Another point of view II

**This is for my master, Shiruji-chan... simply because... -shrugs- she's cool? And I think she'll melt at this one. -huggles- I wuvs you so much mathter! **

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_**Another Point of View II**_

It was damned weird! To be hiding behind the rocks like some sort of goddamned fugitive, while Straw hat and his goddamned first mate, strolled along the beach like a pair of star crossed friggin lovers! Why did Tashigi hold him back? Why did she tell him not to go and bloody catch and or kill Straw Hat right then and there? Was there something she was seeing that he wasn't?

It just looked like Monkey D Luffy, and Roronoa Zoro were walking together. What was so weird about that? And why was Tashigi being so fucking… GRR! Smoker could kill her for this, if she wasn't such a good bloody assistant!

Tashigi seemed to notice the tenseness of her superior and twitched, flinching away from him a little, but she couldn't let him go out there. Well… not right now. She could tell something special was going on between those two, and for some reason, her heart just couldn't bear to let them be broken up at that exact moment. Straw hat and Roronoa passed, and Smoker turned to growl at Tashigi, a wild look in his eyes.

"The hell'd you do that for?" he hissed. Tashigi sighed and bent her head.

"I don't know Smoker-san…" she replied, "But… we can catch them tomorrow, ne? I mean, they've only just docked, so they'll be staying until the log pose is ready right?"

"Of course they will." he spat, "But that's beside the point! We had them right there!"

"Smoker-san… I apologise…" and she bowed her head again. Smoker waved a hand at her in an annoyed manner as he stood up.

"Whatever Tashigi. Just don't let it happen again." and he began walking back towards the ship. Tashigi glanced back and clearly saw Straw Hat's face turn and look straight at her. He raised a hand in greeting and waved, elbowing Roronoa, who blinked down at him and then back at her and smirked. Both waving sarcastically, Luffy and Zoro ran down the beach and back towards he village, disappearing into the rapidly gathering darkness. Tashigi frowned after them, turned away and then smiled and adjusted her glasses before stumbling after Smoker again.

"Yes Smoker-san! I won't!" she called happily as she trotted at his side.

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**Ugh... that turned out sappier than I thought it would. -shakes head and sighs- No comments on the sap thankyou very much Clarobell, or you might find yourself buried under a pile of randomly random 'exploding balloons' -wink wink-**

Didja like it Shiru? The idea's probably already been done, but, meh, I don't care. lol. I apologise to whoever I ripped off! I apologise profusely! -bows and bows until her back snaps- ...owie... -limps away- 


	57. Running in circles

**Let me ask a question before I start... I don't mean to sound rude, but, do you guys not like this anymore? Are you sick of one shots? Because... I'm only getting a few reviews for each one now, so I'm just wondering, don't you like it anymore? **

**Is there anything in particular that you want to see? Funny? Sad? Comedic? Just tell me, and I'll strive to do my best to meet your demands. Okay, now I've said that, on with the one shot! **

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_**Running in circles**_

Luffy's head was reeling. He'd just fallen in the ocean… again… and been saved by Zoro… again. Surely Zoro had to be getting sick of this by now.

"You just want to put your hands on the captain." Sanji commented as Zoro climbed up the side of the ship and back onto the deck again. Standing up, Zoro glared at Sanji and crossed his arms and they continued an argument they'd been having before Zoro had dived into the water.

"Hey, I'm not going to let Luffy drown because you simply don't want to get your pretty boy hair all wet!" Zoro replied, literally dripping all over the deck. Luffy rolled over on the wood and sat up, looking up at the two of them.

"Oh? Well you would have gotten in sooner if you hadn't of been worried about your goddamned swords."

"Don't even fucking start… on my swords, princess."

"Oooh, touched a nerve did I?"

"Take a long walk off a short pier asshole."

"Oh, we're reverting to nasty comments now are we? Well, _that's_ mature."

"What the hell is your problem!?"

"It's bloody staring me in the face!"

"You're imagining things, there's no mirror in front of you!" and Zoro laughed nastily. Sanji scowled.

"You sir, are an asshole!"

"And _you_ are a shitty bastard!" and then of course, they started throwing swear words at each other. Luffy shook his head as he stood, getting rid of the water from his hair as he held Hat in his hands.

"Thanks Zoro." he said and trotted off.

"You're welcome!" Zoro yelled after him before Sanji burst out laughing.

"You're such a fuckhead!" Sanji cried while laughing. There was a thud as Sanji found himself on the deck, his cheek throbbing from the punch Zoro had just thrown at him.

"And you're an idiot!" Sanji yelled as he flipped back onto his feet and caught Zoro around the ankles with a sweeping kick. After getting the green light from Chopper that he was okay, Luffy trotted back past where Zoro and Sanji were now kicking, punching, yelling and grunting at each other.

"Love you Zoro." he called as he trotted past.

"Love you too!" Came the reply.

"You are such a fucking moron!" Sanji yelled, trying to kick Zoro in the head. Luffy leapt up onto the figurehead and looked back out to sea again, resuming the position he'd been in when this had all started ten minutes ago.

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**Umm... don't even ask. I'm not even sure myself where this came from. -shrugs- Didn't want mushy, or angsty... or anything. Ha, it's a comedy! -blinks- why is no one laughing?**

**  
Don't even ask, but, I was listening to 'What goes around comes around' by Justin Timberlake when I wrote this (It was on the radio! I can't survive without my radio! -nods-) and I think that song influenced this. lol. -shrugs- Good song that. lol. -looks around and then gets hit by a random tomato- OK! That's it! -stomps off to hit a certain someone over the head- **


	58. First Kiss are they what they seem?

**They were talking about first kisses on the radio... and damn it all if I didn't have the ultimate urge to write a story about Zoro and Luffy's first kiss. -shakes head and sighs- I don't know, maybe I should just bury my head under a log. A packet of matches on a table makes me want to write a ZoLu story. -shakes head again- Anyway, on with the story!**

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_**First kiss**_

_**by Plushie**_

It is common belief that the 'first kiss' as it were, was not just a peck of the lips, but in fact a proper, full on pash. This is how most people saw it. It's how it worked for Nami and Sanji (Sanji had fainted, awoken, pinched himself and then fainted again… it had been quite amusing) but, Luffy and Zoro had yet to have their first _real _kiss, if that was the fact then. They knew they liked each other, and they knew the other liked them, and therefore they'd kissed, but, it was a 'kiddie' kiss, as Sanji had put it later (this coming from someone who had fainted during his first kiss, and was now, of course, the ultimate expert on it).

Luffy was clueless, and thought that the kiss he'd given Zoro was the best one in the world! And he was sure Zoro felt the same. Or, at least, he hoped Zoro had liked it. Actually, Zoro had been fine with it. But now, both of them were copping hell from Sanji, as he was trying to make them kiss for real.

"You'll never be a proper couple if you don't kiss properly." he kept saying. Well, they decided that (to shut the shitty bastard up) they would kiss for real. Luffy was sitting across from Zoro… Zoro was sitting across from Luffy… and the floor was between them. They stared at each other for a moment, before Luffy saw Zoro's cheeks colour and then the swordsman's eyes left his own and were gazing at the floor. Tilting his head, Luffy let out a soft breath.

"Na Zoro, ya know… we don't have to just because Sanji said so." he commented. Zoro's gaze snapped up to him, his eyes narrowed and his cheeks colouring further.

"I'm not doing it because that shitty bastard said we had to…!" he defended angrily. Luffy shrugged. Down on the deck behind the bow, where they were situated, Usopp and Chopper were playing some sort of weird game. They were giggling like little kids and every now and again, Sanji would yell at them to stop disturbing his precious Nami-_swaaan's_ sleep. In which case, the two would go quiet for all of five seconds… and then burst into laughter again.

"The sky's… umm… blue…" Zoro commented idly and Luffy rolled his eyes. He knew what small talk was, he wasn't stupid. He also knew, that when Zoro was nervous… he tended to go on about stupid, pointless things until Luffy feigned sleep just to get him to shut up. That made him more than a little apprehensive about their first night together. Luffy may have been cute, cuddly, a little stupid sometimes, but, stupid wasn't the same as dumb.

Stupid was acting like an idiot in situations where… he wasn't supposed to be acting stupid. Such as the kitchen, when they were eating, and he would accidentally get food all over Nami and Sanji would blow his top. That was a good time to act stupid… cos it meant that he got to see Sanji lose it. It was quite entertaining. Oh great, now his own brain was babbling. And… so was Zoro apparently.

"Do you know that the ocean is blue, because it reflects the sky? The sky is blue and the ocean reflects it! Ha!" he was saying, having totally lost control of whatever it was he was actually going to say. Sighing, Luffy grabbed Zoro's shoulder and mashed their lips together. Both of them winced as teeth hit, foreheads butted and tongues were bitten. Noses were smooshed against cheeks, and eyes were clenched tightly shut. All in all… it was horrible. Luffy pulled back, and Zoro blinked blankly at him before both looked uncomfortable.

"That was-" Zoro began.

"Yucky…" Luffy finished. Zoro let out a sigh of relief and nodded, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"But we at least showed that shitty cook…" Zoro muttered a little vehemently. Luffy blinked at him before shrugging.

"Maybe it would be better if you kissed me?" he asked. Zoro considered this for a moment before tentatively leaning in, and cautiously touching his lips to Luffy's. That was better, so far… The touching of the lips was easy, it was the next part that was harder. Once the initial contact was down, and noses weren't nearly broken, heads weren't aching from a hit that shouldn't even have happened, and teeth didn't clash harshly, Zoro touched Luffy's lips experimentally with his tongue. Shifting a little to get closer, Zoro felt his swords clink at his side and quickly put a hand down to still them, his tongue now able to explore Luffy's mouth.

This was… weird. To say the least. He'd never expected to be able to know someone's mouth inside out, and yet here he was, his tongue in Luffy's mouth and roaming freely. Luffy had had enough of Zoro's dominance, and therefore pushed back this time, his own tongue fighting Zoro's away and then taking over, delving into Zoro's mouth. Now… that was certainly weird! Zoro felt the slight shock at having his mouth invaded, running through him before he relaxed as Luffy's tongue explored his own mouth. Finally, when the need for air became dire, they pulled away, breathing a little heavily. Neither would meet the other's eyes for a moment, before Zoro looked up.

"That was-"

"Good." Luffy finished and grinned. Zoro smirked back at him. Now what…? Did they sit here like a couple of stunned mullets?

"The water's calm today…" Zoro began and Luffy gave a loud groan of annoyance before grabbing Zoro and kissing him again, just to shut him up.

---

It was dinner time, and once again Sanji had taken to badgering Zoro and Luffy about kissing.

"You two idiots are never going to hold a good relationship if you don't kiss properly." the chef was saying, looking between the two of them while Luffy vacuumed his food up, and Zoro rolled his eyes. Nami was tempted to give Sanji a good, hard slap, but, she was interested to see Zoro and Luffy's reactions. Or, Zoro's at least, Luffy was too busy eating to notice anything going on around him. Idly slapping Luffy's hand away from his food, Zoro glared back at Sanji.

"Not everything is about kissing ya know." he replied.

"That's just because you haven't." Sanji responded smugly. Nami rolled her eyes this time, while Robin looked on in amusement. Chopper and Usopp were looking at everyone one at a time, wondering where this was all heading.

"And you have?" Zoro asked as he karate chopped Luffy's hand again. Sanji's smug smirk went even wider, if that was possible.

"Nami-san!" he cooed, looking at her with an endearing expression. Zoro snorted.

"And you fainted before her lips even touched yours." he said. Sanji blinked and frowned, a light tinge to his cheeks.

"But-"

"And then you woke up, pinched yourself, and fainted again."

"I-"

"Whereas, neither Luffy or myself even thought about passing out."

"You-"

"AND, we didn't just kiss once, wait, who am I kidding… you didn't even get kissed once! You fainted!" And smirking smugly, Zoro leant back in his chair and crossed his arms, finally letting Luffy snatch his food. Sanji looked like a frog, his mouth gaping open and his visible eye wide as his cigarette sat precariously on his bottom lip. The poor chef was speechless.

"You kissed then?" Usopp asked. A hand bloomed behind him and whacked him over the head before disappearing in a tinkle of cherry blossoms. Rubbing at the offending spot, Usopp blinked at Robin, who tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow at him. Getting the message, the marksman kept his mouth shut. But Luffy wasn't going to let the question go. He'd finished his food and was now inspecting everyone else's plate. Hearing the question, Luffy looked up and grinned.

"Yeah! It was yucky the first time, but the second and third and fourth and fifth-" and Zoro whacked Luffy over the head.

"Shut up." he hissed. Luffy pouted, readjusting his hat. Sanji nearly looked ready to faint again. How could Zoro get… he was a shitty marimo! How the… Turning to Nami, who raised an eyebrow at him, he grinned.

"Nami-san…" he began.

"You had your chance." she replied, smirked and then got up and walked out. Sanji deflated while Zoro tsk-ed, stood, and also walked out. His day was now complete. He'd woken up, he'd trained, slept, trained, slept, drunk, slept, had a fight with the shitty chef, slept, kissed Luffy, and then been all smug about it to the shitty chef. Yeah… his day was pretty much complete.

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**Well... that was erm... -clears throat- interesting? Sappy? I dunno. XD -shrugs- tell me what you thought anyway.**


	59. Annoying

**This is a simple little story. Light ZoLu. Nothing fantastic, but cute and fluffy. -nods- This one's for Lady Zoro! Thankyou so much for reviewing all of my drabbles! -nods some more- **

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_**Annoying**_

Luffy put his hands on his hips as he looked around. Zoro was missing. He couldn't find him. Mind you, Luffy had only _just _woken up and he was convinced that if Zoro wasn't in the hammock that swung beside him, then he was lost. Moving towards the ladder to go up to the deck, he slipped his sandals on and then leapt up the ladder rungs three at a time. Much like a monkey would. Scooting onto the deck, Luffy looked around. He couldn't see him up here either. Letting out a disgruntled whine, Luffy paused as something wet dripped onto his arm.

"Eh? Rain?" and he looked up at the sky to see it was as brightly blue as ever. Instead, he spotted something hanging out of the crow's nest.

"Luffy!" Usopp's voice echoed down to him, and Luffy blinked. What was Usopp doing hanging out of the crow's nest like that? And crying... Oh! So that's what the wet stuff was!

"What are you doing Usopp?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Damn Zoro put me up here! Get me down!" Usopp growled before his face turned pleading, "Please?" Luffy tilted his head a little and then grinned.

"Nope! If Zoro put you there, then Zoro can get you down!" and he chuckled as Usopp let out a wail.

"Here Marksman-san." and three disembodied hands appeared and untied the knot around Usopp's ankle. The boy bounced off the top of the main sail, then slid down the cloth to bounce onto the deck, where he lay still.

"Usopp!" Chopper squeaked as he sat up. The boy got to his feet, tears running down his face while he bled from the nose.

"Thankyou Robin…" he said dizzily before collapsing back to the deck in a faint. Robin smiled.

"You're welcome marksman-san." she replied. Next thing they knew, Sanji had burst from the kitchen, love hearts in his eyes.

"Robin-chwaaaan is so kind!" he cooed as he noodled his way over to her.

"Thankyou Cook-san." she replied. Luffy frowned and groaned in a slightly annoyed manner as he pouted. No sign of Zoro here either. Stalking his way past a noodling Sanji, giggling Chopper and rather grumpy Nami (she'd been awoken early in the morning by Sanji and Zoro fighting and now she was pissed at both of them) Luffy went up to the upper deck at the back of the ship. He looked around.

"Zoro?" he called. No response. He walked around the deck a bit and then paused with his hands on his hips.

"Whaaat?" came a sleepy and slightly whiney reply. Luffy blinked. Where had that come from?

"Zoro?" he asked again, looking around.

"Yeah, what?" and Luffy finally spotted him. He was lying in amongst Nami's orange trees.

"Zoro!" and Luffy bounded over to him before pausing and blinking, "Why are you in there?"

"Because…" Zoro replied, rolling over so he could glare at the captain.

"Why?"

"Nami's pissed at me, the shitty cook keeps annoying the crap out of me, Usopp keeps whining and Robin won't stop smiling at me. They're all annoying!" and with that he closed his eyes again. Luffy blinked at him and then chuckled.

"Zoro's so funny." and then he jumped up beside his friend and grinned at him, "Am I annoying?"

"Aye…" Zoro replied. Luffy pouted.

"No I'm not!"

"Are…"

"Not!"

"Shut up Luffy! No, you're not annoying. Now leave me alone." and Zoro yawned widely. Luffy grinned as wide as it was possible.

"Zoro said I'm not annoying!" he crowed before effectively glomping the swordsman.

"Will you get- ah, what's the use?" and Zoro shrugged and went back to sleep again. Who cared if Luffy was hugging… and who cared if Zoro enjoyed it? But… it was still annoying…

**End**

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**Bleh, basically that was written because... I was bored. lol. Hope it was cute though:)**


	60. Evil

**This should be funny. I won't say anything, other than the fact that this is to get my frustration out about something. And for some reason... when I'm frustrated... I write idiotic... funny things. How annoying... DX**

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_**Computers are evil…**_

It was damn hilarious. That's what it was. Sitting in the lounge room and listening to his boyfriend swear and curse as he attempted to do something. Luffy snorted as he heard another yell.

"I hate you too!" Zoro growled. There was no response and Luffy waited for the next curse to be spoken.

"Fuck you!" and Luffy burst into silent laughter, sliding down in his seat and covering his mouth with a hand. When he had calmed, he listened again, a wide smile on his face. There was some tapping… a beep… and then a low growl that progresses into an annoyed yell.

"You stupid… fucking… idiotic… GRAH!" and Luffy once again burst into silent giggles, "I don't want to do that, I want to do THIS!" Click… tap… bang… "THANKYOU!" and there was an aggravated sigh. Luffy rolled around on the chair, laughing his head off silently.

"Oh what the fuck are you doing nooow?" Zoro fairly whined before there was a loud bleep and the man let out another growl, "I still fucking hate you!… Yeah, got to hell!" and Luffy sighed, shaking his head slightly and wiping at the tears of laughter that had formed in the corners of his eyes. God it was funny listening to Zoro yell at nothing.

"Is that it? Are you done? Great! I thought you were going to sit there and do nothing for the next week! You stupid thing!" Zoro growled sarcastically and Luffy finally decided it was time to see what Zoro was up to. Not that sitting here, listening to him wasn't funny, but, he had no idea what Zoro was yelling at.

"Oh go screw yourself you fucked up shit of a thing!" Zoro's voice growled as Luffy poked his head around the door and paused. There sat Zoro, in an office chair… glasses perched on the end of his nose as he glared and angrily stuck his bottom lip out at a slimline computer. Luffy burst into laughter at that, sliding down the outside of the door while Zoro looked around at him and growled, pulling his glasses off and dropping them onto the table.

"It's not damn funny! Why the hell do I have to do this anyway!?" he growled as he got to his feet and stretched.

"Because… Nami said that if you want to get a job in the future, you have to do it so you can use the computers at the workplace." and Luffy shrugged as he got to his feet, wiping tears from his eyes. Zoro's shoulders hunched forward as he frowned and stuck his lip out in an angry pout.

"I hate her…" he growled and Luffy sniggered.

"So, all in all… how's it going?" and Luffy waved a hand at the computer vaguely as he crossed his arms and looked politely interested. Zoro frowned.

"You are such a bastard…" he muttered as Luffy burst into laughter again. Zoro's lips twisted before he grinned widely and sneakily as he moved towards Luffy.

"I think it's time for me to take a break…" he commented, his voice suggesting that it wasn't just a break he had on his mind. Luffy blinked.

"What about the computer and the course?"

"Meh… computers are evil…" Zoro replied and grinned.

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**This was derived from my own random comments that I make while doing my own damn computer course. My family reckons it's friggin' funny when I sit in the office and swear my head off at nothing. It's not funny at all... it's frustrating! Especially when the computer I'm using decides it wants to be a -beep- and piss me off! Whoever knows Microsoft Access (which I do not own(disclaimers are a pain)), should know that it's a hell of a program to understand when you're trying to learn it. **

**And that's right, I don't just waste my days sitting around typing out these stories. It takes five minutes for me to whip up something like this, so it's no drama. I sit in front of an idiotic computer, for five hours a day... trying to get it to do something that it absolutely refuses to do! Because somewhere in my deluded mind, I thought, 'hey, a computer course, that should be good for my IT career.' To hell with it! -pants angrily-  
**

**Okay, now that I've had my bitch session, was it funny? lol. It was intended to be. I just made it ZoLu-ey because... I'm a ZoLu fanatic and I have nothing better to do with my life... apart from the damn COURSE!! -stalks away- **


	61. Betrayed

**Simple, idiotic, slight ZoLu but mainly mania that was written while I was on a sugar high... . . **

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_**Betrayed**_

Monkey D Luffy's most favouritest things in his world were Meat, Boshi, his Nakama, and Zoro! Oh, and meat… again… Well, anyway, Sanji had cooked breakfast for the crew and Luffy was clawing at the door, whining and whinging as he attempted to scratch his way through the door. Zoro raised an eyebrow behind him before sighing.

"Oi, Shitty chef, let us in! The captain's wasting away to a shadow out here!" he called, smirking lightly as Luffy blinked before jumping to his feet and plucking at his vest.

"Yeah, what Zoro said!" he agreed, jerking the vest slightly to show his point. There was lots of space between the red material and his skinny chest and Zoro sighed, rolling his eyes before he reached out a hand and prodded Luffy in the side, causing the boy to giggle and grind an elbow downwards in an attempt to stop him.

"Go the hell away until I call you, shit heads!" Came the grouchy reply.

"Whoops," Zoro commented before leaning over to Luffy and grinning, "Ero-cook's going through his PMS." there was a loud smash before Luffy jumped out of the way, the door to the kitchen bursting outwards and crashing through the railing and down to the deck. Sanji was glaring at Zoro as the swordsman smirked widely. It was always fun winding blondie up.

"You fucking asshole of a shitty bastard! I'm gonna kick you from here to… somewhere really far!" Sanji practically screamed as Zoro leapt lightly down to the deck and pulled out his swords. Luffy blinked down at the two, watching in interest as the oldest men on the ship tried to kick and or slice, each other's brains out. He was watching them fight before it became abundantly clear to the small pirate… what the hell was he doing watching them fight when he could be eating the meat in the kitchen!? So, he did just that! There was a loud 'crunch' and Luffy poked his head out of the kitchen to see Zoro go smacking into the mast… face first. He winced.

"That HAD to hurt…" he muttered as he walked out, licking his fingers and feeling rather proud… wait… if Zoro was out cold, then that meant… Uh… oh… Using powers that were obviously gifted to him for this exact purpose, Luffy threw his arms up to the crow's nest and then pulled himself up there, leaping in and making Chopper squeak in shock.

"Shhhh…" Luffy whispered as he crouched down, pushing Boshi off of his head so it could rest on his back, dangling from the string around his neck. Chopper blinked at him before turning and peering down over the edge of the crow's nest too.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly and Luffy giggled as he turned and slid down to rest on the floor of the lookout.

"Zoro distracted Sanji and I ate all the meat! Shishishi!" and he had to put a hand over his mouth as he laughed so he wouldn't alert Sanji to his position.

"Ooh… Sanji looks mad." Chopper pointed out and Luffy blinked before getting up and peering over the edge of the crow's nest. Mad was an understatement. The chef was _livid. _His visible eye was no longer there, and was shaded instead by a large amount of dark anger while a tiny bit of his eye glinted. His fists were clenched, his legs were bowed, and his hair almost seemed to be rising from his head in a wave of fury.

"Ohhh… he IS mad…" Luffy muttered before ducking down and twiddling his thumbs. Chopper blinked at him, totally innocent and clueless as HE hadn't done anything wrong. He was a cute little reindeer and he would NEVER do anything wrong. Blah… whatever Chopper.

"What are you gonna do?" Chopper asked, scratching at his ear before grinning widely, "Maybe you can become a fugitive!" Luffy whacked him over the head.

"Pirates ARE fugitives baka reindeer!" and he huffed, chewing his bottom lip nervously while Chopper frowned.

"Then become a ninja." he replied, rubbing at his head. Luffy's eyes brightened.

"Of course!" and he grinned at the reindeer, "Thanks Chopper, you're the best!" and he hugged the reindeer, causing him to wriggle around.

"Still doesn't make me happy!" he squealed, his cheeks pink. Luffy peeked out over the edge of the crow's nest and spotted Sanji, who was stalking the deck like some oversize crow. It was a little scary… Aha! The trap door was open. Now… if he aimed it right, he could hit that hole perfectly and fly through it without even alerting Sanji to the fact that he was there… Jumping onto the edge of the crow's nest, he waited until Sanji had his back turned before he stretched his arms down, gripped the edges of the trap door… and then yanked himself through it. He hit the floor with a VERY nasty sounding crack, but the boards didn't break and Luffy didn't break either, so all was good.

"Ngrawr!" came from above as Sanji heard him and Luffy jumped to his feet, grabbing his hat and bolting into the men's cabins, hiding in the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. Usopp looked up at him from where he was laying in his hammock, idly whistling a tune.

"Where. Is. He?" Sanji hissed from the ladder, not only his cigarette alight… but his breath was too! Usopp squeaked and toppled out of his hammock, wincing when he whacked his nose on the floor. He looked up with watering eyes, but Sanji was in full on 'you must die' mode and Usopp wasn't going to win any awards for good acting today.

"I-I don't know! He said something about going to sit on Merry's head!" Usopp whimpered, touching his bruised nose and glancing over as Sanji stalked back up the ladder again.

"Idiot…" Luffy muttered as his head popped up, and he stuck his tongue out at the ladder.

"Whadidja do?" Usopp asked, turning to him. Luffy grinned.

"Ate all the meat that he just made!" he replied and Usopp blinked.

"Did you eat Nami's?"

"Of course! I was hungry!"

"You're suicidal." Usopp commented as he left the men's cabin and climbed back up the ladder and onto the deck. No one was in danger from Sanji (least of all Nami and Robin) and Zoro was probably sulking somewhere about the fact that he'd been knocked out. Actually… Luffy ducked back down as he heard footsteps on the ladder. They landed with a light 'thud-thud' and then began striding across the room.

"Luffy? Oi!" a soft voice called and Luffy popped his head back up, Usopp's sock hanging from his ear.

"Eh? Oh, Zoro!" and he grinned, "You did well! I congregate you!" and he chuckled.

"It's 'congratulate' idiot, and you've pissed princess off to no end." and this time Zoro grinned, "Good work." and he yawned. While he was down here…

"Where is he? And can I escape?" Luffy asked, jumping out of the clothes and pulling Usopp's sock off of his ear, and then dropping one of Chopper's shorts back onto the pile. He'd had it in his hands, ready for when Sanji came. If the blonde came near him, he was going to shove the little pink boxers in the dude's face, and then make a break for it! It was the PERFECT plan! He blinked when he saw Zoro settling himself into his hammock, yawning widely as he stretched.

"You can't escape, no. Wanna know why?" and Zoro looked up with the most sarcastic look Luffy had ever seen him wear, "Because we're on a ship… and the ship's surrounded by water… and you DROWN in water!" and he dropped backwards again, closing his eyes and snorting. Luffy pouted.

"Zoro's mean." he commented. Actually… while they were down here… He sidled over to the door and closed it gently, locking it.

"_That _won't do any good." Zoro commented, not noticing Luffy's 'agenda' as it were. A locked door wasn't going to stop cheese head. The bastard'd just kick it straight open… and cause Usopp to have an aneurysm because he had to fix it again. Luffy grinned widely as he sauntered back over to Zoro again.

"Who said it was to keep Sanji out?" he said and Zoro cracked an eye open, "It's more to keep _you _in." and the captain chuckled as he leaned over his respective prey. Zoro raised an eyebrow, sliding the other eye open.

"What if I don't _want _to be kept in?" he asked and Luffy shrugged as he leaned in closer.

"You're problem, not mine."

---

Sanji had circled Merry FIVE times. FIVE! Screw the little bastard! He was probably down in the damn men's cabin all along and Usopp had lied to him! He stalked back over to the trap door and climbed down the ladder before pausing upon seeing the closed door. Very rarely was it closed, but when it was…

"Oh fuck it…" Sanji growled as he made his way back up top again, not even willing to listen to see if his theory was correct. He would have to start ALL over again. Stupid Luffy…

---

Of course, it really didn't take that long for him to cook up another meal. It was more the principal of the matter that had pissed him off. That, and Zoro had said he had PMS. Which he didn't! Stupid marimo… So he walked around deck, alerting his 'lovelies' to their meal, and yelling at Usopp and Chopper to come and eat their food unless they wanted to die very painful deaths. Drawn by the smell of food (like lambs to the slaughter) both Zoro and Luffy finally emerged from their… 'sleep' and cautiously made their way into the kitchen.

"You are in serious shit, Luffy." Sanji growled, not even looking up from where he was making another cup of coffee for Robin. Luffy cringed.

"How'd ya know it was me though? It could have been… Chopper!"

"Hey!" the reindeer squealed, pouting. Luffy pouted.

"Or Usopp!"

"Giant monkeys are gonna eat you Luffy! I swear it!" Usopp cried, frowning angrily. Chopper turned to him with wide eyes.

"Really?"

"Yep, and they'll digest him and-"

"Don't even say it long nose." Zoro warned, pointing a dangerous finger at him. Usopp cringed.

"And live happily ever after, the end!" he squeaked and Chopper blinked.

"So COOL!" the reindeer chirped before turning back to his meal. Luffy huffed. He wasn't even going to attempt blaming it on Nami or Robin, that was more trouble than it was worth. And he knew Sanji wouldn't believe it was Zoro, cos they'd been fighting when the food had disappeared. Luffy wasn't THAT stupid.

"How'd ya know it was me though?" Luffy whined and Sanji snorted derisively.

"Who else eats the meat and leaves everything else?" he asked, and Luffy blinked before frowning and punching his fist into his hand.

"Drat. Betrayed by the meat."

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**Yep, the meat'll get ya everytime! -shakes head and sighs- And another addition to my collection of one shots! Yay me! XD**


	62. My Teddy

_Well, I'm finding it easier to work on my fics as of late. ALL of them. Bits and pieces of DD, Night Vigil, some one shots i've been working on for a while now, Fishy Island, my own book. I haven't been... well, I'm not really motivated, but I haven't written anything for a long time. Anyway! This is just some cute fluff that I came up with randomly. I didn't spell check or anything, so ignore mistakes, or giggle nastily at them, I don't care. _

_Also, it's very light ZoLu. Just qualifies I think. Enjoy. :D _

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_**My Teddy**_

Dangerous. Most people called him a demon and while he was fighting, that was completely plausible. His eyes were too dark to be human's, his attitude dripping with pure confidence and anger. Cool, calm, but easily able to destroy something that stepped into his path if he so chose.

Roronoa Zoro was frightening.

After spending so much time with him though, the captain had a different view on the green haired, former pirate hunter. Monkey D Luffy had the ability to see more often, what people didn't see about themselves. And while Luffy was at times, quite frightened of his first mate, most of the time it was more prudent to laugh at him. His sarcastic remarks, his explosive anger, and his tendency to attempt to beat Sanji to a pulp every opportunity he had. Those were just one side of his personality. There was another side, one that was buried a lot deeper and only showed itself at rare intervals.

The way he forgave Luffy whenever the kid smashed into him whether by accident or not. How he was kind to Chopper and even looked after the youngest member more so than one would think. Then there was the fact that nine times out of ten, Zoro would back Luffy up on his decisions even when the rest of the crew was against him.

Last of all, was the behind the scenes Zoro. The one who gave Luffy a hug when the captain was feeling out of sorts. How he looked after him, watched out for him. When it was cold, to 'keep the rubber brat from freezing', Zoro was the only one to hold him. Luffy didn't mind the snuggling, loved it more than anything, but never asked blatantly for it. The rest of the crew would laugh at him, and Zoro would think he wasn't strong. Wasn't a man. So when he shivered and silently prayed that someone would give him a coat to warm him up, he found himself smiling sleepily when he was jerked back against a strong chest and wrapped up tightly in a large, fluffy blanket.

So, in closing, Luffy had come to think of Zoro as his nakama, his best friend…

… And his teddy. A big, squishable, snuggly, teddy.

He was sure Zoro wouldn't approve when he told him.

_**End**_

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_Reviews please! I'm still working my way up to a hundred as well:D I'm getting there! _


	63. Forever

**AU **

**Pairing: ZoLu**

**Summary: **Luffy and Zoro forever!

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

_A/N:_ _I was re-reading a few reviews from like... ageessssssssss ago, and I read 'ZoLu forever' from more than likely, Shiru. Made me think of what couples do with the whole carving their names into trees, into wet cement, or graffitying it. It's very simple, but I like the concept. _

--

_**Forever**_

_By Plushie_

For days now the local council had been working on the sidewalk. On the last day, they laid out the wet cement and then left to go have lunch. By the time they came back, there was a message written in the now very dry, very solid sidewalk and nobody could be bothered removing it. Such was the council.

--

"Oi, oi Zoro, look!" Luffy cried, running towards the barricade around the wet cement. A large sign hung beside it, reading 'Caution: Wet Cement!'. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Oh, wow, never saw anything more amazing in my life." the older man replied, raising a mild eyebrow at the boy before him.

"Naa! I'm not done yet!" the boy cried, frowning as he bent down and traced something in it with a stick. Zoro raised an eyebrow again, before sighing and waiting.

"There!" Luffy cried, bouncing back to his feet. Peering down at the cement, Zoro smirked a little.

"Ah, that's pretty good." he nodded.

"It's gonna be there forever!" Luffy grinned, leaping up and hugging the older teen.

"Mm, it will be." Zoro replied, before they moved on again.

--

**-ten years later- **

--

Three kids wandered down the sidewalk. A little girl paused as she saw something in the cement in front of her feet while waiting for her two friends to stop petting the stray kitty in the nearby alley.

"Luffy + Zoro 4eva…" the girl read aloud, blinking a little, "Hm, I wonder who they are."

"Come on!" the other two girls cried, continuing down the street. The first girl shrugged and skipped after her friends.

--

_A/N:_ **Reviews would be great, please. :3 **


	64. Click

**The imagery to me is awesome. I hope I got that across. I may re-update this at a later date. It's hot off the press, and done because I was looking at a rather smexy piccy and yeah. No beta-ing, no mucking around, I re-read it once only, so if there's any mistakes, or interuptions in terms of flow and such, I apologise profusely, and yeah, it probably will be re-updated. **

**Na, I'll say this is for FireonIce, for that while ago now that she gave me such lovely reviews for Alone. And because she's been starving for new ZoLu. Aren't we all!? -starves, dies- x.x ... enjoy your ficcy... na... -falls over- **

**No warnings. Just fun smexiness. :) **

--

_**Click**_

It's not until he hears the click of something directly in front of him, does he stop. It's dark, and he has no idea where he is, or how he got here.

"Hi there." a cheery voice says, and it's got the man on edge. There's something laced in that voice that he's certainly not sure of. Like an underlying feeling that he's stepped into territory that's better left undisturbed. There's the harsh sound of a match striking against paper, and then light filters into the dark alley, illuminating two faces… and the gun currently pointing at his nose. His eyes cross as he stares at the thick barrel, following the trail of the dim shine to the finger gently stroking the trigger, then along the arm and back to those faces again.

The one pointing the gun is almost half a head shorter than the other, his dark hair ruffled like it had been recently caught in a whirlwind. His face was lit by a broad grin that should have looked happy and welcoming, but for the glint of anger leaking into the boy's eyes. The other man was full on glaring at him, but somehow it wasn't quite as frightening as that bizarre, happy/angry grin.

"He-hello…" the man stutters, feeling a sense of foreboding gathering in his lower gut. The boy's grin turns into a sort of feral smirk, eyebrows furrowing a little.

"Hi… again." he says, tilting the gun slightly but never letting it waver from the man's face, "… Did you have anything to do here, or…?" The man blinks a little, glancing at the two and suddenly realisation dawns on him. They're both shirtless, hair ruffled, looking very pissed off, but trying to be nice about it. Or… well, one was. The other looked ready to slice him up where he stood, with that white sheathed sword he was fingering longingly with a thumb.

The soft light illuminated only half his face, making the other half look eerie and frightening in the shadows, his green hair the only thing that looked soft and cuddly about him. _Obviously, _the two had been up to some late night activities, and he'd just rudely interrupted. He'd give anything to make up for that simple mistake right now… Swallowing a little nervously, the man takes a hesitant step backwards.

"I'm sorry… I didn't kn-know where I was going. It's dark… and you were…" he tries to explain weakly, but when a gun is pointed at one's face, it's not exactly an easy situation. The taller man allows the corner of his lips to twitch up, the arm wrapped around the younger boy's waist tightening and drawing him closer. The man gulps again, taking that second step back. One more step, and he knew he would make a run for it. The match is burning low…

"Hurry up and leave before I slice you…" the older man speaks, his voice low and lacking any form of tolerance as he flicks the blade out of it's sheath with a soft snick, "… where you stand." Now the man's in serious jeopardy, a katana _and _a loaded pistol pointing at his face? He whimpers, feeling his knees knock together as the air in the alley grows ever colder, the shadows of the two frightening looking men stretching up the wall behind them and towering over the now violently shaking man.

"P-please…" he starts to beg, feeling the corners of his eyes prickle with frightened tears. The boy holding the gun sighs a little, turning to look at the older man before glancing at the frightened one watching them.

"If he wants to watch, that's his problem…" he smirks, hooking his free arm over the taller man's shoulder and leaning up to nip at his throat. The older man's face darkens with a smirk, green eyes narrowing a little but sparkling with gold from the by now, very low burning match as they focus on the man before him.

"I guess so..." the older replies, making no protest to the teeth gently tugging at his neck, or the hand roaming somewhere around the back of his pants, dipping just barely below the belt line but never moving any further.

The man now kneeling before the two, can't help but notice the gun lower, and the sword waver. In that moment of inattention, he makes his escape, bolting out of the alley and running for his life, knowing he was never coming out at night this late ever again. He doesn't hear the clatter of a sword tinkling against the ground, or the sound of shuffling footsteps and a grunt as one or the other is pinned against a wall at force. The obvious sound of meshing lips, and muffled moans.

And he'd rather not know, thank you _very _much. Those two could have their alley, and keep it, for all he cared.

--

**Fun fun. Gee... dudes... could you lyke, ttly guess who they were? :B haw haw... if you didn't... -cough- we won't go there. **


	65. Jump

**Another one-shot. It's OPU. Zomg! That's like... one out of how many now? DX I'm such an AU freak. Oh well.**

**It's a little lime-ish, but nothing REALLY bad, and this fic-jumble-drabble-thingy is rated M anyway, so. -shrug-**

**Nuh beta-rering... again... I'm so lazy. Annnnd, it's LuZo, really. -shrug- so if ya don't like Luffy top, well... dun read. -.-**

**Enjoy! **

--

_**Jump**_

He couldn't quite figure out how he had ended up in this situation. Hadn't this been a game of tag five minutes ago? And now he was humming and panting lightly at the line of searing fire moving across his neck from Luffy's eager mouth. Zoro wasn't one to give in so easily but he hadn't been able to find a loophole in the 'captain's order' he had been given. Also, being the lazy bastard he tended to be when he wasn't fighting or training, he didn't mind just laying there and not really having to do anything. Five minutes ago Luffy had been running from him, and out of nothing but pure boredom, Zoro had been following with crossed arms and long strides. After all. How far could one really go on such a small ship?

He'd just walked up behind the orange trees.

"Gee. I wonder where he could be." the swordsman remarked, eyes slanted with sarcasm as he stepped up the last stair and moved onto the back deck. Glancing around, he frowned lightly when there really _wasn't _anyone up here. But he'd been sure he'd seen Luffy run up those stairs… Oh well. He was about to turn around, when he realised a moment too late that he was now in direct line of a certain captain's stealthy-but-certainly-clumsy, attempt at tackling him. He was knocked over backwards as a ball of hyper rubber captain slammed into his stomach, winding him and making him gasp as he hit the deck.

"You… bastard…!" he wheezed, coughing desperately and trying to breathe again. Luffy just grinned down at him, eyes alight with mischief… and something else. He blinked a little, still wheezing as he tried to register that strange expression. It looked like an expression he should know, but just didn't… quite look right on Luffy's face.

"Zoro has to stay still! Captain's orders, na?" the boy chirped, hopping up and then grabbing his first mate's arm, pulling him into the shadow of the mikans. Grunting in obvious disapproval at being dragged around like a rag doll, Zoro shrugged. Hey, lie still? No problem. He'd just go to sleep, and this was the perfect spot for it too. He was just about ready to drift off, used to allowing himself to sleep as soon as he sat down, when he felt Luffy straddle his hips, settling on him and humming happily.

"I've told you before, Luffy. You're not using me as a bed or a pillow, or you will find yourself laying in rubber ribbons on the deck. Captain or not." Zoro growled, but he blinked when he felt a hand press over his mouth. Hm… Luffy'd been stealing chocolate from the kitchen again. No wonder Sanji had been pissed off this morning.

"But I ordered Zoro to stay still!" Luffy replied, that occasionally cheeky 'I know I'm gonna win' tone coming to his voice and making the swordsman scowl. Damn, he'd been caught there. He mumbled something about cheap tricks before shrugging again.

"Fine." he grouched, sighing heavily. Once again, he was just drifting off when lips pressed against his, sucking gently and making Zoro's eyes shoot open.

"Nnmmf!?" he grunted, his exclamation muffled by the captain's mouth. Luffy blinked and pulled away.

"Na?" he noised, "What's wrong?" Zoro stared at the captain, eyes a little wider than normal before he shook his head a little.

"… Nothing…" he replied, finally recognising that expression. Lust. Okay, so this ship was full of teenage men who, really, had testosterone coming out of their ears. Well, everyone bar Chopper and Usopp, but the reindeer had the excuse of being a little too young, and Usopp was half girl the way he screamed sometimes. Luffy though, had seemed like he ignored those feelings or urges, and Zoro had never heard/seen anything out of the ordinary with the kid.

Ordinary here meaning, he'd never walked in on something he shouldn't have. 'Alone time' as it were. But the way Luffy was looking at him now, mud coloured eyes slightly half lidded, his cheeks beginning to tinge pink. Definitely lust. Leaning back down again, Luffy began nibbling at the swordsman's neck, making Zoro's eyes shift a little. He wasn't sure what to think about this right now. His brain was going 'Hell no, get him off. Like… now, before something bad happens.'. Something else was telling him to stay put and see where this went, though. And it wasn't like he couldn't shove Luffy away at any point during this.

"Na…" Luffy noised next to his ear, tugging gently at one of the pendants and making Zoro twitch a little, "Zoro's staying still…" The swordsman twitched again as that pendant was tugged once more.

"Captain's orders." he replied bluntly. The tugging paused and then released as Luffy pulled back and blinked at him, confusion mixing with the lust, mouth held in a small frown. The two stared at each other for a short while, cheeks tinging gently pink and eyes narrowed. Zoro's eyes mirrored nothing of how he was feeling about this, only conveying the fact that as a crew mate, he belonged to, and would do anything for, his captain. Luffy's eyes mirrored everything inside. His lust, his confusion, his happiness at Zoro's basic reply of 'I'm yours.' clearly written in the other man's eyes. For a little while now, he'd been thinking about Zoro.

Not in the cliché way of 'He's so hot, he's so sexy.' (though that wasn't to say he _hadn't _thought those things), it was more to do with how loyal Zoro had become to him. Backing him up on his decisions, being there for him when he needed it, knowing when Luffy was perfectly able to fight, and then knowing when the kid needed help. Never did he ask the captain if he would _like _to be helped, he just did. And never had he rubbed it in Luffy's face. The matter had passed between them simply and easily. After a little while, he'd begun to ask silly little questions of Zoro. Whether the swordsman had ever liked someone (to which Zoro had simply grunted and gone back to sleep) and who would make a good close friend on the ship (to which Zoro had answered with blatantly ignorant silence.). He'd given up on the questions after that, knowing they were either unwelcome, or just plain annoying. After that, he'd gone to Usopp. Asked him bluntly 'Who would be the best person on the ship to have sex with.'.

Usopp had looked as though he'd been about to brag that _he _would be, until the question sunk into his thick skull, and the long nose had squeaked off a quick 'Zoro!' and then run away. Finding that a satisfactory answer, Luffy had then gone to Sanji with the question of 'How do I get Zoro to have sex with me.' because the kid was blunt and stupid like that. Sanji had turned an interesting shade of magenta before kicking Luffy out of his kitchen, and yelling 'Jump him!' and then slamming the door again. Jump him eh? So, when Zoro had walked up those stairs, Luffy had jumped on him. Simple as that. And it had worked! Ha. He'd have to thank Sanji later.

Zoro was watching him silently, not waiting for an answer, but looking like he would like one anyway. Smiling a little, the captain tilted his head.

"… Yeah." Luffy nodded, before smiling widely and then returning to his former teasing. As those kisses and nips got more intense, and Zoro allowed himself to respond to it (hey, if he was gonna lay there and have this happen, he may as well enjoy it, yeah?) he wondered briefly how many times Luffy had done this before. Because the brat was damn good at it. It didn't take long before Zoro's allowing of his body to feel this, and to let himself enjoy it, became an uncontrollable urge that he really wished he could reign in, but he'd already made his mistake before. Luffy sucked, nipped, licked, bit (to which Zoro growled out a warning that if he did that again, captain's orders or not, he wasn't going to tolerate being eaten) and Luffy had done it again anyway.

Hips began grinding together gently, eyes closed and chests heaving softly for air. Lips parted, and hands twitching restlessly, cheeks blushing crimson. That dissolved into grunts and soft groans, gentle thrusts and hands tugging at clothing in an almost desperate fashion. Tongues warred in passionate kisses, Luffy's always winning and winding around the swordsman's. Ruffled, panting, hips moving restlessly against one another and flushed pink, the two almost screamed when Nami suddenly appeared out of the bushes, her eyes slanted slyly and a camera dangling teasingly from between forefinger and thumb.

"Nya nya…" she noised, smirk turning into a wide grin, "How about we say the resulting photos of this will be worth oh… 50 more interest on your debt, Zoro?"

Never again would Zoro follow a captain's order to lie still… at least not out in the open, anyway.

--

**There! Hope you liked, and I'm sorry it didn't go any further! Mind you, if it had, it wouldn't have been posted here. -nervous laugh- **


	66. Pronz

**Ahhhh, I've been away for so long!!! Okay. So. I was looking through some ZoLu pictures and found one of Luffy reading to Zoro. I was in a hyper state of mind and this came out. Enjoy!**

_**Pronz**_

Zoro yawned from his position on the floor, legs spread as he leaned back against the couch and idly watched TV while waiting for Luffy to come and read to him. It's not like either of them didn't know how to read, it wasn't like Luffy was learning to read, and it wasn't like Zoro hated the idea, he just found it a little odd.

Then again, Luffy himself was odd so he really shouldn't have been surprised. He yawned again and then craned his neck slightly to listen as he could hear steps on the stairs as the younger teen ran down them. Zoro paused and then raised a mild eyebrow at a clumsy thump at the bottom though, obviously indicating the other had fallen.

"Missed one." he commented idly as he turned back to the tv. not worried in the slightest. The kid was tough, could handle himself. Luffy snorted a little as he got up and continued on his way to the couch Zoro was leaning against.

"Missed three actually." he replied in a proud tone before dropping himself into the other's lap and snuggling his back against Zoro's chest, holding a thin book in his hands.

"So what did you find to read to me then?" the green haired teen smiled a little as he turned the tv off and leaned his elbow back on the couch, resting his cheek on a closed fist. Luffy held up the magazine triumphantly as he leaned against his boyfriend.

"Yatta! Presenting the most awesome of awesomeness!" he grinned cheekily back at the older man, "Porn!" Zoro choked and blushed furiously.

"Why the hell do I trust you with anything like this...?"

_End_

**And that's that. I have another one shot to post as well after this one :3 Ignore mistakes plzkthx **


	67. Soap Operas

**I like writing from Sanji's POV x3**

_**Soap Operas**_

In retrospect, Sanji really shouldn't have been surprised. At first he had thought it was definitely weird, and hadn't really gotten what was going on but once he'd figured it out, he'd thought it was just plain stupid. As a chef and self proclaimed knight in shining armour for his lovely Nami-swan, Sanji prided himself on keeping himself focused on her needs and then anything else that came into the picture at the time was what happened.

Things were what they were but that day when he'd wandered out onto the deck and noticed Luffy bouncing around like a rubber ball, he'd noticed something was different. It was like... the kid had more energy than usual or something. Now... he hadn't thought Luffy even knew how to flirt, let alone what the meaning of the word was, but as the rubber bastard flitted around that stupid marimo swordsman, Sanji had to raise an eyebrow as he puffed on his cigarette. The kid was... flirting. Making comments about the swordsman, trying to get him to laugh, trying to play with him.

It was hard to see because that was Luffy's general behaviour but, Sanji knew that look. He was the world's leading man on flirting, and he knew that quirk of the lips, that sparkle in the eye. Holy shit... was Luffy really that interested in Zoro? Sanji also had to snort because it didn't matter what the little rubber captain did, Zoro was about as responsive to it as a turtle being poked to go faster with a cattle prod. Snorting to himself, the chef continued to watch the two's exploits, actually kind of interested in what the outcome of this would be.

At first, it was exactly as he had described. Luffy was a fail flirt and Zoro was as dense as the forests on skypiea. After a while, he watched as Luffy gave up (Luffy actually gave up? He couldn't believe it) on his flirt tactics and switched to playing hard to get... to which Zoro just ignored him utterly and completely. When the hard to get routine failed completely, the captain went to blatant remarks... and Sanji snorted to himself as five seconds after a comment about the swordsman's ass was made, Luffy was flying across the deck after a particularly sharp punch from Zoro. Classic, Sanji had commented to himself and then continued to watch this little gay drama unfold.

Drama? No. More like comedy. It was hilarious to watch Luffy try and get in the swordsman's pants while Zoro was playing thick. Or. Sanji wasn't completely sure actually if the idiot was playing thick or if he was actually serious. The guy was pretty a-sexual after all. So after that failed attempt, just like the others, Luffy returned to the scene of the swordsman and plonked himself on the deck to watch as Zoro swung his weights around.

"Just jump him already..." Sanji had muttered, pulling out a new cigarette. He'd never thought watching a real life soap opera could be so interesting, "He's too thick, come on. You want him, take him, he's not dating anyone else." Flicking the lighter, he blew out a breathe of smoke idly and continued to watch. He didn't want to see any... 'scenes' but he wanted to see the outcome. Oddly enough, this kind of shit was addicting. Who would've thought?

Well, for another good hour Luffy had just sat there and watched as the idiot swordsman bounced around like a moron with the weights over his shoulders and then finally, _finally_, Luffy made his move. Sanji perked up a little, having been idly watching the ocean during the commercial for the school of idiotic brain dead meatheads, and turned to the action once again. Shuffling his feet slightly, he leaned on the rail and then smirked widely as Luffy glomped the swordsman and facial contact was made. Zoro was at first pulling and stretching the kid like his life depended on it and Sanji snorted.

"Just give in, ya jerk." the blonde shook his head and after a few seconds of that behaviour, the swordsman slowed and the captain grinned while Zoro just blushed and then kissed the other again.

"Alright!" Sanji cheered to himself and flicked the cigarette butt into the ocean before checking to make sure no one had heard him and then headed into the kitchen, "Next week on The Drama Queers. Who gets to top?" ... Sanji shuddered softly. He didn't think he'd be tuning in for that episode.

_**End**_

**There :3 ... Ignore mistakes plzkthx? **


	68. Tickle Attack

**A/N: **_Okay, guys! This is dedicated to Mcgooen :D She knows who she is! X3 It was based on this picture ( http : / mcgooen . deviantart . com / art / Zolu-Tickle-for-Plushie-170849170 ) (remove the spaces for the link, guys :) )  
Pairing: Very light ZoLu, not even there really. Could be considered EASILY friendship.  
Rating: T for Zoro's potty mouth_

_**Tickle Attack**_

_by Plushie_

Sunny was quiet, drifting gently on a calm ocean. It was a cool-ish night, so the crew were getting around with t-shirts and long pants on. Zoro had found himself a nice little spot under the moonlight next to Sunny's railing whilst Brook was playing nearby, sawing gently on his violin. Franky and Usopp were hard at work on some plan or another, a lamp set up over them as they lay on their stomachs and drew lines across a large piece of paper. Robin, Nami, Chopper and Sanji were having a quiet cup of coffee/tea and talking about the day's events. The only one left was Luffy, who was currently humming along to Brook's tune while he sat on Sunny's figurehead.

_This is nice, _Luffy thought, smiling to himself as he watched a cloud move gently over the moon, dimming it for a moment before it moved on and the light returned. Turning around, he regarded the crew idly and smiled a little wider. It was nice to see them all together again after the events at Thriller Bark. Zoro's wounds were healed and everyone seemed just calm and happy tonight, enjoying everyone else's company on the deck. Zoro... Luffy's gaze turned to the swordsman who was silent. He could tell from here that the older man wasn't sleeping but just enjoying the calm moment with his eyes closed. Luffy'd nearly lost him, his best friend... and he hadn't even been awake to protect him.

What had happened? He didn't have the slightest idea how his Zoro could've gotten like he had but he did know that he had done nothing to stop it. It wasn't like he didn't trust Zoro to take care of himself, damn. The guy was one of the most independent on the crew, if not _the _most independent but... Luffy was the captain, and his job was to ensure his crew members were safe and protected. It was his responsibility, as inviting them onto his ship, to have them under his care. He, as the captain, didn't often realise it but he was under their care as well. Mutual respect, Nakama and all of that kind of thing.

Hopping down from Sunny's figurehead, he brushed off his rainbow striped pants and made his way towards where the swordsman was sleeping. The light blue shirt was fairly bright in the moonlight, the word Climb written across the front to show the makers of the article of clothing. His legs were crossed but as Luffy approached, Zoro cracked an eye open almost instantly and watched him before shutting it slowly again, almost as if checking to make sure the kid was okay. Pausing beside him, Luffy tilted his head a little and then bent down, resting his hands on his knees and inspecting the older man silently. After a while, Zoro finally twitched and opened his eyes to look back at the captain.

"The Hell is your problem?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and Luffy shrugged before reaching out a hand and poking the other in the side.

"Just looking." the kid responded and poked Zoro again. Grunting slightly with each poke, the swordsman shifted a little and frowned.

"Cut it out, idiot." he muttered, closing his eyes and planning on attempting to ignore the pain in the ass brat standing over him and annoying him. Tch. Maybe he should've let Kuma just take him away? Man, he'd been stupid to get in the way like that. His thoughts, of course, were anything but serious. He would never ever have let that bastard take Luffy away. Kill the kid's dream. If Luffy couldn't make his dream come true, then what the hell kind of chance did _he _have? Another poke in his stomach made the swordsman jerk a little and growl in a soft warning.

"Zoro?" Luffy asked, still seemingly rather serious as he continued poking the other wherever his rubber arms could reach... which was everywhere.

"What?" came the snapped response.

"... Are you ticklish?" the captain asked, tilting his head slightly and poking Zoro in the stomach once again. A surprised yelp made it's way from between the older man's lips but it was quickly followed by an annoyed cough and grunt.

"No. Fuck off." He snorted and shifted a little only to grunt this time in surprise as Luffy's rubber arms wrapped around his shoulders and jerked him back to Sunny's deck again.

"I think you are!" the grinning face leered over him and before Zoro could think up any kind of protest, Luffy's hands were everywhere, weeding out the ticklish spots and sending the swordsman into a fit of 'get the fuck away from me!'. The effect wasn't instantaneous as Luffy had hoped, it took him a fair few tries before finally he found a ticklish spot around the taller man's ribs and though Zoro's foot was planted solidly against the other's chest, it couldn't push the captain away.

"S... stop it!" Zoro laughed, twisting and flailing, one hand grabbing a rubber arm while the other flailed in an attempt to shoo Luffy away. The captain just laughed, thoroughly enjoying making his swordsman act like this. It was funny to see someone who was usually so stoic, broody and, just face it, grumpy as all hell, laugh like a little girl. By now, the rest of the crew had been alerted to the sound and had wandered over to look at what was going on. At first it had sounded like torture, Zoro's shrieks and Luffy's loud giggles making it seem like a rather bad situation but then once it had become obvious what was going on, everyone had all grinned and then hurried over to see the grumpy marimo giggle like an insane girl.

"L... Luffy! I'm gonna... ha ha ha... gonna kill you...!" Zoro gasped out, still trying to escape but rubber arms made it very easy for Luffy to avoid all of the attempts the swordsman made at escaping.

"Hey, guys!" the captain crowed, "Zoro's ticklish!"

"I wouldn't have ever attempted that. I'd lose my hands." Usopp muttered to Franky who nodded quite seriously back to the long nose but was laughing at the scene in front of him all the same. Whilst Nami took photos and Robin chuckled lightly at the situation, Chopper flailed about saying he hoped this wouldn't re-open Zoro's wounds. Brook was playing a jaunty little tune to go along with Luffy's actions, while Sanji didn't really say anything. Though he still would rather call Zoro a marimo blockheaded moron rather than admit he actually was friends with the bastard, it was good to see the idiot laughing like that, even if it was mildly forced.

Smiling a little, Sanji shifted off to go back to the kitchen to make a drink for everyone when Luffy would finish torturing the older man. Finally, Luffy's rubber arms pulled away from Zoro and the swordsman flopped to the deck, energy thoroughly spent from laughing so hard. His stomach hurt, his heart was going a million miles an hour and though he was quite annoyed Luffy had done something like that... it felt good all the same. The rest of the crew returned to their former entertainment and Luffy hopped to sit beside the panting marimo.

"Wasn't that fun? I had fun! We should do it again sometime!" he grinned and Zoro snorted a little.

"Just consider... yourself lucky... that you don't... have a blade sticking... out of you." the swordsman panted in response and raised a mild eyebrow at Luffy. Blinking for a moment, the kid hummed slightly before grinning right back at Zoro again.

"Sure sure. You're about as threatening right now as a kitten!"

"Kittens have claws, brat..." Zoro snarled but didn't continue any further, instead just closing his eyes again and allowing himself to relax again. Stupid little brat, next time the kid would attempt to do that to him he was gonna throw him overboard. Hahaha, yes, that's what he'd do! He was a man, he didn't giggle like a girl! Unfortunately, some part of him laughed and pointed and said, 'Oh yes you do!'. Also unfortunately, that part within him was beaten senseless and shoved back into the hole it crawled out from. He wasn't going to admit he'd loved every moment of that recent attack. Never.

_**End**_

**A/N: **_Done :D Hope you all enjoyed! :D Thanks again for the lovely pic, Mcgooen! _


	69. Spin

_**A/N:**_ _This isn't much at all. It's ZoLuZo and such. Just a random one-shot. Enjoy!_

_**Spin**_

"This is stupid." Zoro frowned as he leaned back against Sunny's mast and crossed his legs underneath him, placing his arms firmly over his chest and glaring at the bottle on the ground in front of him. Robin smiled from behind her book and simply turned a page, not commenting on the swordsman's blatant refusal to play such a childish game. Personally, she thought it was a rather funny idea. Spin the bottle and all of that. Sanji snorted heavily and smirked in Zoro's direction.

"You've been even crankier than usual since we left Thriller Bark, Marimo. Just get your ugly ass down here and play already." the blonde shook his head and settled himself down on Sunny's cool grass lawn. Zoro threw him a rather nasty, venomous glare but slowly shifted to sit on the lawn as well. By now the other members of the crew had all formed a ring around the bottle. Nami had curled her legs under her and was sitting beside Robin, who had her nose buried in a book.

Chopper was on Robin's other side, clapping his hooves excitedly every now and again as he'd never played this game before. Usopp was next in line, rattling off a story about how he was once the greatest king of the spin the bottle game but frowned when no one was listening. Franky and Brook sat side by side, practicing a small tune together while Sanji sat beside the bag of bones and smiled a little at the music they were making. As Zoro slid down, the marimo settled between Sanji and Luffy and as a form of greeting, the chef blew a puff of smoke at the green haired teen.

"Watch it, princess." the swordsman growled before settling once again and then sighing, succumbing to his fate of playing this ridiculous game. He could be doing so much better things right now. Like sleep, or eat, or be training or something. But no. Seeing as Luffy had had a moment where he'd wanted to play a game with everyone, not just one or two people, but _everyone_, they all had to be included in this. Why? Who knew. It was Luffy, after all, you just didn't go there.

"Because I'm the captain, I go first!" the teen cried and slapped his hand on the bottle, sending it spinning. Zoro yawned widely to show his boredom but snorted indignantly when a disembodied hand slapped over his mouth and Robin chuckled at the glare she received for that. Sanji cooed over the dark haired woman for a moment before turning his attention back to the bottle again, watching as it slowly stopped to point at Usopp. Nami chuckled evilly at this and Luffy grinned widely.

"Me and Usopp!" He cried happily.

"No no no no no!" Usopp flailed, waving his hands dramatically and the captain paused, blinking almost stupidly at the sniper.

"Not... Usopp? Come on, we have to... go... what are we supposed to do again?" Luffy blinked and Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Franky and Sanji all facepalmed in one singular motion.

"Kiss!" They all shouted and Robin chuckled a little again.

"I think perhaps Captain-san didn't know what the game was about, he just wanted to play it because he'd heard of it." She commented, closing her book gently and setting it down on the lawn behind her, "Perhaps Navigator-san would be so kind as to spin it again and show the meaning of this game?" Nami blinked slightly before noting the soft twinkle in Robin's eyes. After all, this had been a plan between the two of them for a while now.

"Yeah, sure." Nami shrugged a little and slapped her hand on the bottle, watching it and then hiding her smirk when she saw the point of a finger appear just enough to slow the bottle and point it towards Sanji.

"Sanji-kun?" the navigator gaped, faking her surprise quite convincingly, "I guess we'll have to kiss, Sanji-kun." Pouting a little at this, Nami huffed and then was about to stand up when Sanji simply fell back on the deck, leg twitching in happiness and a pathetic puppy dog smile on his face. Zoro leaned over a little and whacked the guy on the forehead and then shrugged.

"Out cold." he snorted and leaned back, "Pathetic." At that, Sanji was up again, hand wrapped in the swordsman's shirt and snarl on his face.

"Too late, Sanji-kun~." Nami quipped and shrugged again and Sanji visibly deflated, letting go of the other teen and settling again. His lower lip quivered slightly but the cold as ever Nami simply ignored it. She did feel a bit sorry for him though, considering this was just a part of the plan.

"You can nominate who you want to go next then, Sanji-kun." she smiled sweetly and the chef melted once again and threw his arms in the air.

"Hai, Nami-swan!" he cried and then prodded Zoro in the side of the head with a toe, "Spin the bottle, marimo monstrosity."

"Fuck up, retardia." Zoro snarled and kept his arms firmly crossed until Nami started counting on her fingers about how much debt he still owed her and he slapped his hand rather viciously on the bottle. Enough to spin it rather violently, but not enough to break it because he knew better than that. If he broke it then Nami would only triple everything once again and add ninety percent interest. So they sat there whilst the bottle spun and finally it came to rest on Luffy, just as most of the people in the group had expected. The air between those two had always been a bit... different, than the rest of them. Luffy blinked at Zoro, who stared right back and then snorted and got up.

"I'm not kissing rubber brains and that's that." he growled and made to walk away only to have two disembodied hands grab his ankles and hold him firmly in place.

"It's part of the game." Robin smiled politely but there was a definite threatening air in her tone and eyes. Zoro wasn't fazed at all and growled at her to let his feet go.

"Come on, Zoro!" Usopp, Chopper and Franky all cheered, punching their fists in the air. Usopp and Chopper hid behind the cyborg though when Zoro gave them both the look of death. Nami rolled her eyes and was about to say something when Zoro pointed at her and interupted.

"Nuh uh! I don't care about some crappy debt!" He growled and the navigator shrugged and fell silent. Zoro continued yanking his feet for a moment before finally getting them free only to have Luffy stand up and wrap a rubber arm around his waist.

"Nope. We have to kiss, Zoro." the captain grinned and Zoro blinked and turned to look at him in a rather surprised fashion. The tone in Luffy's voice and the way his eyes were right now was... weird. Like, he'd seen that look on the battlefield or something but that was all, never really sneaky like that towards anyone.

"The Hell, Luffy?" He growled and yanked at the arm around him, blinking when it began dragging him back, "O-oi! Lemme go!"

"I'm the Captain, you can't order me around, Zoro!" Luffy chuckled loudly and continued dragging the swordsman back towards himself, "Besides, what's so bad about kissing anyway?"

"It's not the kissing part I'm worried about, brat, let me go!" Zoro snarled again, still struggling but another arm latched onto him and yanked him back to the Captain. Luffy stared evenly into Zoro's eyes and the swordsman twitched mildly, feeling his face start to warm up from the way he was being looked at. He always prided himself on hiding his emotions well but right now, damn, those eyes just... wow. Luffy leaned closer to the older teen, his breath now ghosting across Zoro's lips and then... rubber tongue licked all over the man's face and Zoro was promptly released.

"There!" Luffy grinned triumphantly and looked at everyone else who stared at him with mingled amusement and disgust, "What?" Zoro blinked stupidly, his face shining with saliva and his mouth slightly agape.

"That's... not how you kiss someone, Luffy..." Usopp mumbled from the background, frowning slightly in sympathy for the swordsman. Blinking, the Captain pressed a finger to his chin in thought.

"It's not? But Sanji said you just get real close and then use a lot of tongue..." he explained, perfectly innocently. Zoro slapped him down at that, watching as the brat laughed from the deck.

"You really had me going, you shit head!" the swordsman snarled and wiped his face clean, "You know how to kiss, I know you do, so don't lie!" With that said, Zoro stalked off.

"Gomen, Zoro!" Luffy laughed, rolling on the deck and holding his stomach, "Zoro, come on, wait!" Getting to his feet, Luffy ran off after the swordsman and the two disappeared somewhere in the darkness.

"That was weird." Usopp muttered.

"Not like I planned." Nami huffed softly.

"It went well for the most part, Nami-san." Sanji smiled sympathetically.

"Yohoho, I quite enjoyed that game!" Brook chuckled and started up another merry little tune in the background.

"It was interesting." Robin smiled a little, her eyes flashing something knowing.

"Wait wait wait..." Sanji suddenly said in the middle of lighting another cigarette, "... How does marimo know that Luffy knows how to kiss?" The rest of the crew paused before slowly looking at each other.

"Ohhhhhhh." They all echoed in unison and Robin chuckled softly. After all, nowhere was safe on board with her eyes about and the view she was getting from where those other two had disappeared, was quite an interesting one she had to say.

_**End**_


	70. You're On!

_A/N:__ Throwing another drabble into the mix here. This one was based off a picture that Magnet drew for me ages ago. I promised her a fic but just didn't have the drive at the time to write it. So here it is now! Pretty much hot off the presses so don't expect much. And it's a little hurried but I couldn't fix it no matter how hard I tried. It'll just have to stay this way._

Pairing: LuZoLu

_Rating: Murrr... T I guess.  
Disclaimer: Insert witty proclamation about not owning One Piece, here. _

_**You're On!**_

The day had started out innocently enough. A freak and sudden storm hit them as they were sailing and it had begun raining outside, so the crew had obviously been confined to quarters. Luffy and Zoro had taken refuge in the training room. Brook, Franky, Usopp and Chopper were all down in the workshop, fiddling about and laughing and singing. Nami and Robin had gone to the library to settle and relax and listen to the rain and Sanji had hidden in his kitchen, only appearing to the ladies to give them snacks or refill their coffee.

As Zoro had predicted when Luffy had followed him up the rope to the weights area, the kid was now completely and utterly bored. He was flopped over in the corner, watching uninterestedly as Zoro did pushups on his thumb, a weight balanced on the soles of his feet. The look on the captain's face was so pathetic that the swordsman just couldn't ignore it and ended up snorting to himself.

"I warned you that you'd be bored shitless if you came up here with me." he commented, continuing his pushups and Luffy narrowed his eyes slightly at the older man.

"I always hang out with everyone else. I hardly _ever _hang out with Zoro any more." he rationalised, heaving out a sigh.

"Maybe you hang out with everyone else, because they're not boring like I am, eh?" the swordsman smirked a little, carefully lowering himself and then rolling onto his shoulders and back carefully, keeping the weight balanced until he could curve himself enough to reach it and set it down on the boards beside him. Now sitting, Zoro wrapped his arms around his knees and watched the dark haired teen with his usual tired stare. Luffy, apparently, was absolutely offended by the idea that Zoro was possibly boring. His eyes were wide and his mouth formed a gigantic frown making the swordsman shrug a little.

"Well I'm not exactly all that interesting when I'm just training here."

"Zoro's awesome!" Luffy crowed, waving his hands in the air crazily before hopping to his feet and running over to the older man, "Zoro's nice and awesome and is really strong and funny and cool and fights really well!" The swordsman felt both his cheeks start to flush and his eyebrow raise at these compliments. He'd never heard the kid so enthusiastic about him before. Of course, it was obvious Luffy did indeed quite like him a lot, them having started this whole adventure together and all, but Zoro hadn't heard anything like that directed towards him from the kid's own mouth before. Not with that much enthusiasm anyway. He'd heard Luffy yell at others though, just not in his _own _face.

"Uh... then why are you so bored...?" Zoro asked, glancing away from the Captain's intense eyes. Honestly, he really liked those big brown eyes that could get away with anything. Luffy tilted his head when Zoro wouldn't look at him before smiling a little and reaching out a hand to pet the green hair happily.

"Not really bored." the kid chuckled, "Just thinking about stuff." The swordsman looked back up at Luffy but couldn't help the slight lean he did in order to keep the other's hand in his hair. It hadn't become all that official as such, but the two were steadily getting closer. Luffy was right in saying they hardly hung out, but it didn't stop their friendship from getting any deeper, it just kept going whenever they did end up doing something together.

"That's rare for you." Zoro smirked a little and the Captain paused his petting before huffing and withdrawing his hand from the soft hair.

"Mean." was the response he got as Luffy turned and flopped to instead sit beside his friend.

"How about... we play a game then?" Zoro suggested, shrugging slightly. He wasn't really in the mood for games but if it kept Luffy occupied for a moment, he supposed he could be nice and go along with it. The kid instantly perked up, looking at his swordsman and grinning.

"Really? A game? Um... what will we play?"

"I don't know, I hoped you had an idea." The two shared a blank expression before Luffy's face fell into a frown.

"Zoro's stupid."

"Oi!"

"How about we play a question game or something like that? Truth or Dare maybe?" The Captain suggested, ignoring the fact Zoro was glaring at him for calling him stupid.

"Guess we could." The swordsman conceded with a slight nod before humming to himself and then flopping back to lay on the floor again, head pillowed on his arms. Luffy grinned and copied the move, watching the rain fall on the small window in the ceiling of the room. The game began with simple and stupid questions, like favourite colours, foods and pet names. Then got a little deeper as they continued, going into questions about their pasts and friends and love lives. It then headed into the territory of their future, and the two laughed about their goals, and how insane they were for chasing them.

Only those two could've laughed together like that and known that it was really not a joke. Only those two could've called each other insane without facing repercussions for it. After a while, it got to more serious stuff and neither of them ever chose dare... until Luffy questioned if Zoro had ever 'done it'. Then... the older man chose dare and the younger teen grinned wickedly. That had answered his question instantly but he didn't let on it had. He might've been a little air-headed but he wasn't overly dumb when he paid attention to what was going on around him.

"Dare, huh?" the Captain smirked a little before tapping his cheek and looking around. With a soft 'ah' he raised a finger in the air as a great thought struck him, "Zoro has to dress up really kinkily."

"... WHAT!" the swordsman spluttered, sitting bolt upright and turning a bright, bright red at such a dare, "The HELL I am!"

"You agreed to play, Zoro! You can't back down now!" Luffy reminded him, sitting up and meeting the older man's shocked and wide eyes with narrowed ones of his own.

"But I'm not gonna do something like that, I don't even know _how_!"

"... Well if Zoro's too chicken." the Captain shrugged, laying back down and smirking inwardly when Zoro instantly stopped his rage at that.

"What...?"

"You heard me. Zoro's a freakin' chicken if he can't do something like that!" Luffy teased, watching as Zoro turned slowly towards him, his face bright red but eyes dark and determined.

"I'm not a chicken, Luffy." he growled, getting to his feet and grabbing the younger teen by the arm. In a movement, he'd tugged Luffy up and down the ladder with him, bolting through the rain and into the men's cabins. The two shook their heads to get rid of the water from their hair before Zoro moved to lock the door. A new instalment thanks to Nami's thoughts on perhaps the men might actually want some privacy from each other. The ship was big enough now that some locks on the doors were a handy thing if say Usopp was writing a letter to Kaya, he could lock the door so he wouldn't have to worry about anyone walking in and disturbing him.

"Face the wall." Zoro grunted, "I won't do the dare if you don't let me be in peace for a moment to sort something out." Luffy tilted his head before grinning widely and nodding.

"Right right. I can do that!" he chirped, indeed turning to face the wall and letting the swordsman do his thing. There were a few grunts, the rustle of material and then some snorts of mild annoyance as well as the occasional nasty muttering mixed in just to top it all off.

"There." Zoro growled and Luffy spun around, opening his eyes and taking in the older man's attire. It was a bit rag tag but obviously the best the man could do as it stood. The first thing Luffy noticed was the weird, laced stockings that he supposed Sanji must've stolen from Nami's cupboard at some point and left in here. Trailing his eyes upwards, Luffy took in the tight black shorts and then a simple, tight black tanktop.

Around his wrists were white cuffs from Sanji's cupboard as well, presumably, and a black tie. Finally, just to make it complete, the swordsman had found the pair of bunny ears Chopper had bought from their latest escapade and had placed them on his head. Zoro shifted a little uncomfortably, his face bright red and one of the ears flopping over his face.

"Zoro..." Luffy blinked, his own cheeks flushing slightly before he grinned widely, "... completed the dare!" The two stared at each other for a while until Zoro looked away again and reached up to start tugging at the ears on his head.

"No!" the Captain cried, "... They look cute, leave them?" Green eyes locked with brown and then slowly the green haired teen nodded.

"Fine." he agreed before letting out a soft sigh, "Truth or dare?"

"Hmm... truth!" Luffy grinned, still blushing slightly at the sight of his friend. He couldn't keep his eyes off him when the guy was dressed like that and though things had started out innocently enough, they sure as hell weren't anymore.

"... Do you... like me?" Zoro asked, his eyes settling on Luffy and his face serious. The younger male tilted his head and smiled.

"Ne! Of course! Zoro's awesome!" he chuckled and the swordsman snorted and shook his head.

"No no... you misunderstood the question. Do _you_, like _me_, more than... friendship?"

"You're my best friend, Zoro..." Luffy responded, tilting his head once again and the green haired teen's eye twitched. His eyes rolled before he placed his hands on his hips, looking more like a girl than ever with his current attire and sassy position.

"Let me simplify it for your thick head, eh?" Zoro growled, thoroughly embarrassed and ticked off that his question had been all but avoided, "Do you want to have sex with me?" The two stared at each other for a while before slowly Zoro's face went from red to almost purple with embarrassment. Had... he just said what he thought he'd just said? He was sure he hadn't. Had he?

"...Sex?" Luffy noised, his own cheeks turning pink. Oh God, he had...

"I..." Zoro stuttered, "... I... m-meant..." No matter how hard he tried to get the words out though, they just wouldn't come and he couldn't fix what he'd already said. It was out there, it was plain as day and Luffy's eyes were widening as his face continued to flush red.

"... With Zoro?" Zoro actually wasn't sure what terrified him more. The idea of having sex with Luffy or the idea of being kicked off the ship for being weird like this. He offered a short nod and shifted a little from foot to foot before yelping when a rubber arm wrapped around him and the next thing he knew, he was colliding with Luffy and connecting lips with the brat.

The kiss was rough, hard and he was sure his lips would be bruised after it but that was only because of the way Luffy had pulled them together. They pulled apart to breathe, both panting and the Captain grinned widely, his arm still firmly wrapped around his prize.

"Hai! Haihaihai!" Luffy chanted, tugging Zoro into another kiss. At that point, it obviously became official that the two were together now. Zoro was sure as hell glad he'd locked that door before.

**End**

_A/N:__ Hope you liked! :D Thanks for reading!_


	71. Busted

_A/N:_ _This was written as a present for Gooey! She drew this lovely art and I just HAD to write a fic about it._

http : / mcgooen . deviantart . com / # / d3bzes2

_If I remember correctly, always didn't allow links in fics so. Just take the spaces away and you'll get the link. _

_**Pairing:**__ LuZoLu _

_**Rating: **__T for swearing  
__**Disclaimer: **__I don't own One Piece and I certainly don't own Nami's eyeliner. I have a liquid one. Feels funky to put on. _

_**Busted**_

Oh man had he missed this. The ship, his Nakama, Zoro's snoring. Two years they'd been apart for, and now when they were together again it felt like no time had passed at all. It was just as if they had been sailing the day before and had woken up on a brand new day. Luffy had decided that he needed to get some serious business done when he woke up. Zoro had been on watch the night before as they sailed onwards and Luffy had pouted a little at that but left him be.

After all, he and the marimo had a lot of catching up to do after missing out on their relationship for two whole years. Nothing had deadened whilst they'd been away from each other either, leading to them both being just as passionate about the other when they had seen each other again. Zoro had slept the whole night anyway and was now still sleeping against the mast of the ship, looking like a silent (albeit _lazy_) vigil.

"So many things to catch up on..." Luffy muttered to himself as he caught his tongue between his teeth and concentrated hard on Zoro's sleeping face in front of him. The swordsman didn't twitch at all, his soft snoring continuing as Luffy _stared_. Distantly, he heard footsteps but ignored them completely and utterly as he concentrated on his marimo. By now, the captain was practically in his first mate's lap, getting closer and closer to Zoro as he continued.

"Hey guys?" Nami's voice rang out from the stairs above where Luffy and Zoro were. She was leaning on the stairs and everyone who was on the ship and not concentrating on a marimo or sleeping _like_ a marimo, paused to listen to what she had to say.

"Has anyone seen my new eyeliner? I bought it... yes..." Nami trailed off as she caught sight of what Luffy was doing and her back immediately snapped to as she slammed a hand down on the railing in front of her. "DAMN IT, LUFFY!" Luffy jerked and snapped his head around on rubber hinges, making him look quite absurd as was per normal.

"A-are?" In front of him, Zoro groaned and his forehead wrinkled a little as he woke up and opened his eye, considering the other was permanently closed with the scar these days.

"What are you yelling for? Is it morning already?" He stretched and then blinked when Nami stomped down and snatched something out of Luffy's hand. Her eyes were practically alight.

"Well crap..." The captain mused intelligently and then grinned and laughed, jumping to his feet and slapping a hand on his hat to keep it from being dislodged with his random movement. Sanji peeked out of the kitchen, wondering what all the fuss was about with his lovely swan and the captain and when he couldn't see anything, decided he would go down to have a closer look. Nami stared at Zoro's face as the man got up and slowly, her own face began to change.

"... Ha... ha ha..." She slowly giggled before slapping a hand over her mouth and snorting heavily. Zoro gave her a _weird_ look and then looked at Luffy, who was just grinning as if he were a Cheshire cat.

"Ja ne!" The captain called and then scooted away from the scene via throwing an arm up to the figurehead and snapping himself to it. Sanji wandered down the stairs, hands in his pockets and a lit cigarette smoking at the corner of his mouth. He had to pause when he saw his swan shaking with obviously suppressed laughter

"Nami-san?" He asked, a small smile coming to his lips as he saw her so happy. Then, his right eye found exactly what she was laughing at and he _stared_.

"What the hell is your problem?" Zoro was asking, scratching at his hair and wondering why Nami had just randomly started laughing at him. He wasn't angry, just confused as all fuck. Sanji's lips formed a weird shape as he raised a hand and pointed at the man's face... before he too, burst into laughter.

"AHAHAA, MARIMO! You look hilarious!" The blonde crowed, grabbing his stomach and falling into that goofy laughter Zoro knew so well by now. Nami took this as her cue to burst into proper laughter as well, dropping to her knees on the grassy deck and slapping at the ground happily. Zoro's eyebrows formed a flat and blank line as he realised just what on Earth had happened. Luffy, sitting in his lap.

Nami, yelling and snatching something away from him. Sanji, pointing at his face and laughing his lousy dartboard eyebrow off. Heh. Two plus two certainly was making four right now.

Wandering to the bathrooms, Zoro peered in the mirror and his expression only became more of a solid 'For fuck's sake' one as he peered at the markings on his face. A curly moustache, swirls on his cheeks, a little beard action and, most of all, a gigantic love heart on his forehead with 'L + Z' written in the middle of it. Ha ha ha, very funny, Luffy.

"I'LL KILL YOU, LUFFY!" Luffy heard the yell from his swordsman and just grinned wider, holding his hat as he sat atop _Sunny's_ figurehead and watched the horizon. Oh man... it was great to be back again.

**End**

_A/N:_ _Thanks for reading, everyone! :D I'm still on my quest to make it to a hundred! I'll get there someday! _


	72. Space

_A/N:__ Idea gotten from a conversation on dA - she knows who she is. XD_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **_

_**Space**_

Luffy was winning this, he was sure of it. Steadily, he was wearing Zoro down like a… like a… Luffy wasn't sure what like, but something that was hard to wear down. Like a rock, he supposed.

"Do not," Zoro said, arms crossed and vein in his temple twitching almost violently as he continued this stupid, stupid game of back-and-forth.

"Do too, I've seen you," Luffy replied, grinning wildly and swinging his arms merrily as they walked through the forest and back towards the Sunny.

"There is no possible way you could have seen me, Luffy, because I do. Not!" Zoro's voice rose enough to startle a few birds in a nearby tree. Though the older man was denying everything, the captain could see the way his first mate's cheeks were flushing brilliant red with every passing moment. Luffy didn't care if Zoro did or didn't, it was just fun pissing him off like this; he was easily baited.

Considering they'd spent most of the day just walking through this forest in multiple circles and arguing with one another, Luffy was having a damn good time. Reaching his arms up behind his head and lacing his fingers behind his neck, the captain just grinned in a way that was so arrogant; so monumentally cocky that Zoro had to stop and challenge the kid right then and there.

"Shishishi, I don't wanna fight ya, Zoro! We're having a nice walk, remember?" The look in Luffy's eyes was anything but innocent.

"It's not nice with you constantly making up crap accusations and pissing me off every five minutes," Zoro snarled, shoving his hands into his pockets and following after his captain with a look of utter loathing etched clearly over every visible part of his face. Normally, he didn't get this pissed off by someone unless it was that damn shitty chef but right now, here and today, Luffy was driving him absolutely BATTY. The end of the forest finally loomed ahead of them and Luffy glanced back at the older swordsman and poked his tongue out in a childish display.

"Do too," he said quickly, darting out into the open air and onto the road that led down to where they had docked. Zoro growled and stomped after his captain, eye twitching.

"LUFFY! For the last time, I do _**NOT**_ wear women's underwear!" His yell was so loud that it startled a nearby couple from their conversation and then put them into hysterics of laughter that they tried – miserably – to hide.

Zoro glowed even more brilliantly and gave the man and woman a glare so cold it would make the sun freeze. Their newfound entertainment was quickly forgotten about and their picnic was packed away before another sound could be made. Luffy watched boredly as the two ran away and then swung around to look up at his boyfriend. The look on his face was so serious and like he was ready to say something utterly important, that Zoro almost faltered; _almost_.

"Do too," Luffy said and then dodged the fist that was swung at his face.

"ARGH! Luffy, get the HELL out of my face, I'm going back to the ship!" Zoro stomped past the captain, his swords clinking against his hip and his shoulders hunched as he headed down the road and towards the ship. Luffy grinned as he watched the other go and then ran after him, sandaled feet slapping against the ground and eyes wide but determined. It took him a moment to catch up and then once he did, Luffy dodged in front of the taller man and planted a hand on the broad chest.

"Gomu gomu noooo…"

"Luffy, don't you freakin' _dare_ rocket me somewhere, I'll murder you!" Zoro snarled, pointing a finger down at his captain. _How_ the swordsman was going to murder the other was rather rude but thankfully lost amidst the noise of Luffy's battle cry.

"ALL UP IN YO' SPACE!" Next thing Zoro knew, he was wrapped up in a mess of rubbery limbs and sloppy lips that made him seriously reconsider even bothering to go back to the Sunny. Instead perhaps running away to join a group of bounty hunters somewhere was a far better idea? When finally those lips were pulled away with a rubbery snap and a lot of drool sliding from a rather sickened swordsman's face, Luffy grinned heartily and patted the older man on the back.

"Of course you wear women's underwear, Zoro! You're a queen, aren't you?" Legs were released, arms were retracted and captain was gone before Zoro could think of an appropriate response to such a horrible joke, but such staggering wit – especially seeing as it was coming from Luffy. _That_ was what made it such staggering wit more than anything else. Sighing heavily and resigning himself to not winning such a ridiculous battle, Zoro shoved his hands in his pockets and headed back towards Sunny.

Why the hell he kept returning? Not even the Gods knew.

_A/N:_ _Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! Please ignore mistakes, as I did some proof reading but I can't pick up everything. I also think I got a bit of the tenses wrong, but hey. _


	73. Doing His Duty

_A/N before the A/N: __My last note was kinda harsh… I should probably delete that. NEXT TIME. I didn't have the heart to delete the story when so many of you still enjoy the stories and read them when the mood strikes you. Thanks guys. It means a lot. _

_A/N: __Hi all. I don't know how many of you still have this listed as something you read regularly. This is based off a situation I was just recently in (me being the Luffy character in said situation) and it struck me as a very Luffy/Zoro-ish situation. It may be OOC (I'm great at that) but it made me feel a bit better about handling the stress of thinking I'd shown someone a weak side when in fact, I hadn't._

It's hot off the press so please enjoy and I hope there aren't too many mistakes. Ganbatte ne! 

_**Doing His Duty**_

Why did things always have to go like this? Why did he always have to feel like he'd screwed up and he had to apologize for being human; for being himself? Even as Zoro held him close and tried his awkward best to comfort him, Luffy felt like he was holding the guy back. Like this situation just wasn't called for when in fact, it really was.

Bad things happen to good people. Not for any particular reason bar perhaps the universe trying to stay in balance. Bad people seemed to get away with things or perhaps bad things happened to them in suddenness instead of small bits throughout their lives? Who knew?

All Luffy knew at this point in time was he hated it.

Being captain of the Mugiwara no Kaizokudan was a tough gig, especially with such a large bounty on his head and now, with Usopp's less than graceful departure from the ship, Luffy was feeling the strain. He didn't want the others to know how bad he was hurting and that he was down here, in the cabins, crying like a child in Zoro's arms. Some part of him felt like he was betraying Zoro for doing this as well, even though he knew the older man thought no such thing of him. It had been a tough battle and tough for the other pirates to watch.

Zoro always seemed so understanding but tears and the green haired man had never gone down well. He found the situation awkward and hard to deal with, one of the only times when he wanted to run away from something was when the waterworks were on. In this case, Zoro knew it was selfish of him to run but he just couldn't handle this right now.

"Luffy… I should get going to help that shitty ero-cook get those ingredients he wants," Zoro ventured, his eyes averted and one hand awkwardly resting on the younger man's back.  
"Sanji can wait," Luffy said, his voice muffled by sniffles and the fact he had his face firmly planted in the taller man's shoulder. Rubber arms were wrapped tightly about muscled torso and Boshi had fallen to rest on the captain's back.

"But… Luffy, I can't handle this… Why don't you get Chopper or Nami?"

"I want _you,_ Zoro." The tone in Luffy's voice was firm, final and made Zoro reconsider his next words but this situation just wasn't for him. It grated against his very nature and made his insides cringe in distaste. It wasn't that he thought Luffy was any weaker for crying, or that he thought any less of his captain for feeling this way about a friend he just had to beat the daylights out of, it was just… _tears. _Why the hell and what the hell…? What could he do to stop them? Nothing. What could he do to help? Nothing… So being here and unable to help was utterly pointless, plus seeing Luffy so upset just made his heart hurt.

"Luffy… I'm so uncomfortable right now, I want to just… get away from you in whatever way possible. I'm sorry…"

"Zoro, I don't need you to be here like this for me often; _ever_. I want you here. I don't want to be alone and Nami and Chopper will just make me feel worse right now. Nobody can know this is going on. So please… just stay?"

"I… can't, kid. Just… let me go, ok? You'll see me later. At dinner?" Luffy let out a suffering sigh and unwound his arms from the taller man's body, before shoving him viciously backwards. Zoro couldn't help but stumble as the movement was so quick and forceful that he had no time to brace himself against the sudden push.

"Then just go," Luffy growled. His eyes were shadowed and his stance showed anger and misery all in one tangled mess. It grated against his nerves to see his captain in such a way but he was suffocating here. It was like a tangible rope being pulled tighter and tighter around his throat every second he stood there and listened to the muffled sobs of Luffy's misery. Zoro's feet however, didn't feel the same as his nerves and before he could even think to stop them, he was almost on the ladder and heading up to the hatch that led onto the deck.

He felt awful; _terrible_, but this just wasn't his forte. Hell, he'd send Sanji or something… no, that was a bad idea. Nami would mother the kid and smother him, Chopper would cry like a wounded puppy and… there was _no_ Usopp here to make the kid laugh. Zoro swallowed hard and placed a calloused hand on the ladder rung. The smallest, softest noise was heard in the background but his ears pricked and heard every syllable.

_Please don't… _

Zoro swallowed again and placed a second hand on the rung of the ladder, his fingers trembling as he fought internally against this whole thing. This was wrong. He shouldn't be leaving the kid here like this, alone, in the dark and miserable at a time where it obviously felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He was the first mate! This was his job, to be here and support the kid through everything he was facing. A silent shadow in the background that made sure Luffy was never alone, no matter what the task was.

Zoro growled low in his throat and let go of the ladder, his muscles tensing as he physically fought the urge to just leave and get that fresh air his lungs were running out of. Finally, he managed to turn around and make his way back towards where Luffy had huddled himself into a corner. He stopped a few feet from the kid, his hands in his pockets and his eyes focused on the ground in guilt. It took a moment for Luffy to realize he wasn't leaving but when he did, it was a flying ball of rubber boy that hit him all at once and knocked both of them onto the wooden floor with a muffled thud.

"Easy, easy!" Zoro grumbled, wrapping his arms around the flailing brat. "You're gonna send me to an early grave, kid."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"What are you apologizing for, baka?"

"For not being strong enough to do this without y-you!" It took a moment for those words to sink in before Zoro realized truly what he'd almost done. If he'd left… it would've broken their bond. That trust they had had ever since the start of this journey. That… immeasurable kinship they shared that none of the other crew could replicate in any shape or form. Gone, just because of his own almost selfish decision.

"… Baka," Zoro mumbled as he bopped the kid lightly on the head. "Never should have left in the first place." This didn't change how uncomfortable this was making him and that fact probably never _would _change, but it wasn't like Luffy needed him like this every five seconds. Hell, often at all. If Luffy said he needed him, Zoro would be there, no matter how he felt or how badly he wanted to get away. It took a while for Luffy to finally settle and then they sat together in silence for a long while before Zoro finally registered that his ass had gone numb from being seated in such an awkward position on the hard wooden floor of the cabin.

"Zoro…?"

"Mmf?" Zoro grunted as he twisted slightly in an attempt to regain some feeling down the backs of his legs. Luffy fiddled with his haramaki for a moment before he looked up, eyes still red rimmed and the tip of his nose glowing from the recent tear-fest. He looked so young right now that Zoro had to stop a moment and make sure this was indeed his captain.

"Thanks for coming back…" Luffy showed his teeth in a trademark grin and Zoro grunted and averted his eyes, a light tinge coming to his cheeks.

"Yeah yeah, kid. Just… get off me now, would ya? My ass is numb…" This information seemed to tickle Luffy's delight all too well and the captain rolled off the swordsman with a shout of outrageous laughter.

"Not funny! Shut up!" Zoro raged as he shook his fist in a threatening manner but Luffy either didn't notice or didn't care and continued to laugh so loudly the hatch opened and three shadowed heads poked in. Zoro growled and hopped to his feet, diligently ignoring the shoot of pins and needles that shot down the backs of his legs and up through his Gluteus Maximus.

"Stupid dumbass," Zoro grumbled as he climbed the ladder, shoved past the cook and witch and headed towards a nice, secluded spot towards the back of the deck. The small quirk of his lips as he settled down into a more comfortable position for a nice nap was unnoticed by the rest of the crew as Luffy burst from the cabins with all the unrivalled energy of a hungry gomu-gomu man.

"MEAAAT, SANJIIII!"

**End**


End file.
